Coca-Cola İçecek Announces Financial Results

Coca-Cola İçecek (CCI) disclosed its financial results for 2023. Despite a 2.6% decline in consolidated sales volume compared to the previous year, CCI announced that it did not slow down investment and invested a total of TRY 6.1 billion in its operating geography. CCI's 2023 net sales revenue grew 8.4% on an organic basis, while net period profit increased by 48.3%. CCI's year-end operating profit (EBITDA) rose 26.2% to reach TRY 14.5 billion. In the Turkish market, net sales revenue growth of 25.7% was recorded in 2023, while net sales revenue per unit case increased by 32.4%. In overseas operations where inflation accounting was not mandatory, net sales revenue growth reached 59.3%, while net sales revenue per unit case rose 61.2% on a TL basis. On a basis adjusted for currency effects, growth was 21.0%.

Effective portfolio management drove growth

Coca-Cola İçecek CEO Karim Yahi made the following comments regarding the 2023 year-end financial results: "In 2023, we faced challenges in our operations due to natural disasters, economic difficulties, and political unrest in neighboring countries. These issues affected consumer spending power and impacted our business. As a result, our sales volume on a consolidated basis fell to 2.6% below the expectations we had shared at the beginning of the year. This weakness was offset by our effective revenue growth management strategy, which included dynamic pricing and promotion optimization, as well as effective portfolio utilization actions."

TRY 6.1 billion investment

Despite the contraction in sales volume, Karim Yahi stated that they did not abandon their investment strategy before demand and continued investing intensively: "In 2023, our total investment spending, with 33% directed toward our Turkish operations, reached TRY 6.1 billion. The ratio of investment spending to sales was 6.1% in 2023. Our investments will continue in 2024, particularly with two new plants in Çimkent, Kazakhstan and Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In 2024, we will also lay the foundation stones for our plants in Ismailli, Azerbaijan, Baghdad, Iraq, and Namangan, Uzbekistan. The strength of our operating model, with our focus on a quality growth algorithm, allows us to continue creating value in the countries where we operate," he said.

Serving a population of 600 million

Karim Yahi noted that they recently completed the acquisition of Coca-Cola Bangladesh Beverages Limited, which they had been working on throughout 2023, and concluded his remarks as follows: "The acquisition of Coca-Cola Bangladesh Beverages Limited is an important milestone for us. By reaching 600 million people from Çorlu in Turkey to the Chinese border, we have become the 3rd largest bottler in the Coca-Cola system. With 31 bottling plants, 3 fruit processing facilities, and over 10,000 employees, we serve approximately 1.2 million sales outlets. Bangladesh has a bright future ahead, and we eagerly look forward to using our capabilities to drive growth and create value in Bangladesh."