European suitor for Coca-Cola Amatil the product of mergers

With €12bn ($20bn) in annual sales, Coca-Cola European Partners ranks as the biggest Coca-Cola bottler outside of the United States.

Coca-Cola European Partners ranks as the biggest Coca-Cola bottler outside of the United States. Picture: AFP

With €12bn ($20bn) in annual sales, Coca-Cola European Partners ranks as the biggest Coca-Cola bottler outside of the United States.

The London Stock Exchange-listed company is a product of a myriad of mergers of Coca-Cola bottlers as the Atlanta-based parent The Coca-Cola Company sought to simplify its footprint in western Europe.

Key to this was the 2016 three-way merger of Franco-UK Coca-Cola Enterprises, the Spanish-Portuguese focused Coca-Cola Iberian Partners and the German Coca-Cola operator to create CCEP.

Now the bottler focuses on 13 countries across Europe, including the UK, Germany, France, Spain and northern Europe, giving it a potential footprint of 300 million people.

Last year it had an operating profit of €1.7bn. About 61 per cent of its sales are focused at the “at home” channel while 39 per cent is outside the home in cafes, bars and restaurants.

Last year it produced 2521 million unit cases, with each case representing about 5.7 litres.

This compares to Coca-Cola Amatil’s 2019 full year sales of $5.1bn and net profit of $375m. Today, under chief executive Alison Watkins, CC Amatil’s footprint covers Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, PNG and Indonesia. CC Amatil claims it has access to more than 270 million potential consumers. Last calendar year it produced 309.9 million unit cases.

In 1998 CC Amatil demerged a portfolio of Austrian, Italian and eastern European bottlers, which created a new company Coca-Cola Beverages which in turn merged with London-listed Coca-Cola Hellenic.

In its most recent investor update in August, Coca-Cola European Partners warned the COVID pandemic was hitting its sales. The virus’s second wave sweeping Europe is expected to deepen the economic downturn there.

“Many of our customers continue to operate at reduced (levels) and some outlets remain closed, and on-the-go consumption in particular, remains under pressure,” CCEP told investors.

CCEP, which includes former Brambles and Kathmandu director Christine Cross on the board, is scheduled to have a third quarter trading update on November 6.