Greece's Coca-Cola HBC Posts Slight Rise in Net Profit

   By Stelios Bouras 
 

ATHENS--Greece's Coca-Cola HBC AG (EEE.AT) on Thursday reported a small rise in second-quarter net profit, but warned that geopolitical tension in Ukraine will make the rest of the year even more challenging.

In a statement, the company said comparable second-quarter net profit rose 6% to 135 million euros ($180 million). Revenue for the same period fell 5% from a year earlier to EUR1.8 billion.

The No. 2 bottler of Coca-Cola Co. (KO) products with presence in 28 countries, Coca-Cola HBC said, "There is increasing evidence that the trading conditions we have seen so far are unlikely to improve during 2014."

"Although macroeconomic forecasts are being revised marginally upwards in some of the countries where we operate, unemployment levels remain high and disposable income is still constrained. Moreover, the escalation of the geopolitical situation in Russia and Ukraine has affected consumer spending in this region," it said in a statement.

Comparable earnings per share for the second quarter rose 9% to EUR0.37, it added.

Write to Stelios Bouras at [e-mail]

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