Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (LON: CCEP), the bottler that makes and distributes Coca-Cola drinks across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, saw its shares fall 4.3% today after first-half profit beat forecasts, with a second-quarter slowdown overshadowing the numbers.
CCEP shares fell to 7,710p today, having set an all-time high of 8,545p on 28 July just days before the results. The stock’s 50-day moving average sits at 7,576.8p, still well above where it traded before that rally.
Results for the six months to 3 July showed revenue up 4.4% to €10,724m, or 6.1% on a comparable, currency-neutral basis, with reported operating profit up 6.9% to €1,458m and diluted earnings per share up 9.1%. Chief executive Damian Gammell said: “We delivered a strong first half, with balanced revenue growth, continued share gains and disciplined cost and cash management.” CCEP reaffirmed full-year guidance of 3-4% comparable currency-neutral revenue growth, operating profit growth of around 7%, and free cash flow of at least €1.7bn, and confirmed €593m of its planned €1bn buyback is complete.
The share reaction centred on the second quarter alone, where revenue growth slowed to 2.5% reported, roughly half the first-half pace, even as volumes rose 3.2% on a days-adjusted basis. Revenue per unit case, a measure of the average price taken per drink sold, rose just 0.1%, showing CCEP is selling more drinks while earning almost nothing extra per unit, a stall in the pricing power that had driven earlier growth.
The stock had just set a record high before results, so today’s fall reads as profit-taking on the loss of pricing momentum rather than a reassessment of the unchanged full-year outlook.