By Christian Moess Laursen


Coca-Cola Europacific Partners said its pretax profit and revenue rose last year due to strong performance in Europe offsetting Asia-Pacific weakness.

The London-listed bottling company said Friday that its pretax profit increased to 2.20 billion euros ($2.38 billion) in 2023 from EUR1.96 billion a year prior, driven by revenue from Europe rising 7.5%, offsetting a 5% fall from Asia-Pacific on softer consumer spending.

The Asia-Pacific region includes Australia, New Zealand & the Pacific Islands, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Revenue rose to EUR18.30 billion from EUR17.32 billion, largely on an 8.5% increase in revenue per unit case, driven by price increases and promotional optimization alongside favorable mix, the company said.

It declared a dividend per share of EUR1.84, up 9.5% from 2022, maintaining its payout ratio of around 50% of earnings per share.

For 2024, the company targets revenue growth around 4% and an operating profit growth around 7%, in line with mid-term objectives.

In a separate release, the company said it has completed the $1.8 billion joint acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines from The Coca-Cola Company. The deal is in partnership with Philippines conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures.


Write to Christian Moess Laursen at christian.moess@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-23-24 0259ET