Coca-Cola Amatil’s half-year profit has risen 7.8 per cent to $198.2 million as water, energy and dairy drinks help offset declining soft drink sales.
The group says the trend for Australians to drink less soft drinks had continued in the six months to July 1, while its volumes of still drinks, including Mount Franklin water and Monster Energy, had risen 9.3 per cent.
Overall group revenue rose 2.8 per cent to $2.5 billion and the company declared a partially franked interim dividend of 21 cents a share, down from 20 cents the previous year.
Coca-Cola Amatil Group MD, Alison Watkins said, “This is a solid overall performance for the Coca-Cola Amatil Group, it shows progress on our shareholder value proposition and reflects the strength that comes with our diversity of markets, products and categories.”
“In Australia volumes in still beverages increased by 9.3 per cent, driven by strong performances water, energy and dairy. This was the result of innovation and investment across the categories that commenced in 2015 including the introduction of FUZE Tea and Monster Energy and the new Mount Franklin marketing campaign.”
Watkins said the improved performance across each of these areas helped to offset the structural adjustments that continued in Australian sparkling beverages, which experienced a decline in volume in the first half.
“Consumer tastes and trends in Australia are continuing to evolve and our focus over the last two years has been on rebalancing our full portfolio. We are moving to meet consumer demands with a greater focus on portion size and product reformulations in Sparkling and increased investment in Stills.”
