Coca Cola European Partners PLC (LON:CCEP) have reported a rise in 2019 revenue on Thursday morning.
The drinks retailer and producer said that it expects single digit revenue growth in 2020, however performance in 2019 had been strong.
Coca Cola reported that revenue had rose 4.5% to €12.02 billion in 2019, compared to the 2018 figure of €11.52 billion. The multinational said that this reflected solid execution and innovation led growth which will please shareholders.
Notably, pretax profit also rose €1.45 billion from €1.21 billion, whilst operating profit also rose from €1.30 billion in 2018 to €1.55 billion.
On a sweet note for shareholders, Coca Cola also declared a full year dividend of €1.24 per share, which shows a 17% appreciation from last year.
Coca Cola across all business have looked to maintain its annualized dividend payout ratio of 50%.
The CEO commented “It is a fantastic time to be leading CCEP. Our 2020 guidance is firmly in line with our mid-term growth objectives, which when combined with a new €1 billion share buyback programme and a 50% dividend payout ratio, collectively demonstrate our commitment to driving sustainable value for our shareholders.”
Coca-Cola also announced that they will be commencing a 2020 share buyback program of up to €1 billion, as the firm concluded its update.
The drinks firm praised the strong performance in the British markets, as revenue grew by 2% in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Fanta & Monster drinks.
French revenue also jumped 4.5%, and European performance was steady with strong consistent performance in the Netherlands.
Damian Gammell, Chief Executive Officer said:
“2019 saw our business deliver another solid full-year demonstrating our continued focus on driving profitable revenue growth through managing price and mix across our portfolio, delivering solid in-market execution and a step up in innovation, collectively reflected in market value share gains across all our geographies. 2019 was a great year for our customers too; joint value creation remains a key priority, so it has been great to see that once again we were by far the largest FMCG value creator in the retail channel[6]. And all of this alongside the successful closure of our merger commitments.
Coca Cola are one of the world’s most established brands. Following strong European and British performance, there is every reason for the drinks firm to remain confident as the market for Coca Cola remains strong.
“Looking ahead to 2020 and beyond, our journey continues to be built on three pillars: great people, great service and great beverages. We continue to build our core business alongside scaling up recent innovations and enhancing our commercial capabilities, by investing to better serve our customers and further improve in-market execution”, the CEO concluded.
Shares in Coca Cola European Partners PLC trade at €49. (+1.86%). 13/2/20 11:24BST.