Coca-Cola HBC AG said sales volumes in Romania improved for the second consecutive quarter, witnessing a marginal decline at the end of the third quarter, following a decrease of nearly 15% in the same period in 2013. Therefore, in January-September 2014, the decline slowed down at around 5%.
Coca-Cola also said sales of carbonated drinks in Romania returned to growth in the third quarter, witnessing a 1% increase in volumes, backed by Fanta, Sprite and Coca-Cola Zero brands.
On a group level, Coca-Cola’s sales volumes fell 3.9% in the first nine months of 2014, to nearly 1.52 billion unit cases.
Net sales revenue fell 5.6% to EUR5 billion. Excluding the impact of the exchange rate, revenue per unit case rose 2.5%, according to the report.
The profit after tax attributable to shareholders dropped to EUR367.8 million in January-September 2014, from EUR385.6 million in the year-earlier period.
Coca-Cola HBC is the second largest bottling company of U.S. group Coca-Cola, in terms of sales volumes. The company operates in 28 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.
In Romania, Coca-Cola HBC owns three factories, in Ploiesti, Timisoara and Vatra Dornei, as well as 14 distribution centers.