Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Lowers Annual Sales Forecast

(Reuters) – Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, a bottling unit of Coca-Cola, has revised its annual sales forecast downwards due to decreased beverage demand in Europe and weak sales in Indonesia linked to the Middle East conflict.

Although demand for sodas remains steady, lower-income consumers are increasingly cautious, choosing to dine at home rather than eat out, which has affected Coca-Cola Europacific's volumes.

The company produces Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, and Monster in Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, providing beverages to fast-food chains like McDonald's and KFC as part of combo meals.

In Europe, volumes fell by 1.4% in the third quarter, an improvement over the previous quarter's 4% decline, attributed to heightened consumer spending at music festivals and sporting events such as Euro 2024 and the Paris Olympics.

Southeast Asia's volumes were impacted by Indonesia's weakness, where a backlash against multinational brands occurred due to the Middle East crisis.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners saw an adjusted revenue increment of 2.4%, reaching 5.36 billion euros ($5.84 billion) in Q3, with overall comparable volumes up 19.1% and revenue per unit case at 5.32 euros.

The company now anticipates a 3.5% increase in annual comparable revenue, down from a previous forecast of 4% growth. In contrast, Coca-Cola's earlier forecast in October predicted a 10% sales increase, benefiting from rising demand for higher-priced sodas and juices in the U.S.

($1 = 0.9181 euros)