Coca-Cola Enterprises Q1 2016 results – Preview

On Thursday, Coca-Cola Enterprises will report its results for the first three months of 2016. Here, just-drinks takes a closer look at the soft drinks company’s performance in the period: 

• Following the unit’s full-year results in February, CCE chief executive John Brock flagged the energy drinks category across Europe as being “meaningfully underdeveloped”
• At the same time, analysts concluded that CCE’s pending European merger will leave the unit less exposed to the potential introduction of sugar taxes and should improve sales prospects. The merger between CCE, the German unit of the Coca-Cola Co and Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, to form Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), is expected to close in Q2 2016
• In early March, senior CCE executive Hans van Bochove said drinks packaging deposit schemes in Europe would not increase reuse or recycling rates. Van Bochove was speaking at the Packaging Waste & Sustainability Forum in Brussels
• On 16 March, the UK Government set out plans to introduce a sugar tax. Analysts suggested CCE was “most at risk, given its exposure” to the UK market 
• A few days later, Brock told an audience of analysts that “cooler heads will prevail” when it comes to mapping out the plans for the sugar tax in the country

Full Year and Q4 highlights

• FY net profits were down 10% US$596m
• Net sales in 12 months to end of December fell 15.6% to $7bn
• Operating profits dropped from $1bn to $866m 
• Q4 net profits lifted 39% to $156m
• Net sales in the 3 months to the end of December were down 15% to $1.6bn
• Operating profits fell 11% to $173m

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