This is one of the strongest advances by a local producer in a ranking led by Automobile Dacia.
Thus, the bottler, which has in recent years been coping with sales declines almost yearly, is enhancing its presence on foreign markets as consumption in Romania did not follow an upward trend during the crisis. Soft drinks consumption slid by around 10% in 2013 against 2008, reaching 135 liters per capita.
As a matter of fact, Coca-Cola HBC volumes in Romania contracted by almost 30%.
The company ended 2014 with a 6% decline in sold volumes, to 790 million liters, according with the parent company’s latest report.
During the crisis, the company did not fare well in terms of revenue, either. In 2013, the company generated revenue worth 1.8 billion lei (EUR410 billion), down 7% on the year. The first half of 2014 brought the company flat revenue at RON837 million (around EUR190 million).
According with the latest data, Coca-Cola HBC Romania exports around 5-10% of output and the products that go abroad are Dorna, Cappy Pulpy, Nestea and Burn, Fanta, Schweppes and Coca-Cola.
Muhtar Kent, chief executive officer of Coca-Cola Company, in 2013 stated he wanted to turn the Ploiesti plant into a regional hub set to deliver to markets in the region.
Beside the plant of Ploiesti, the company also owns production units in Timisoara and Vatra Dornei.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)