(Reuters) - Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) HBC expects profit to grow in 2024 as the bottler reported a record annual profit on Wednesday, helped by strong demand for its sparkling drinks, coffee, and energy drinks, as well as easing cost pressures.
The Switzerland-based company, in which U.S. beverage giant Coca-Cola owns about 23%, expects comparable operating profit to grow between 3% to 9% in 2024.
It reported a 17.7% rise in comparable operating profit for the year ended on Dec. 31 to 1.08 billion euros ($1.16 billion).
Beverage companies have witnessed resilient demand even as they hiked prices to pass on elevated costs to customers.
However, cost pressures have begun to ease in the past few months, bringing relief to bottlers such as HBC who have seen margins improve.
Comparable gross profit margin was 80 basis points higher in the full year, reflecting easing cost pressures in the second half of the year, the company added.
Organic revenue per case for 2023 was up 15%.
"While we expect the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment to remain challenging, we remain confident that we will continue to make progress against our medium-term growth targets," CEO Zoran Bogdanovic said in a statement.
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