Coca-Cola HBC has temporarily stopped production at its plant in Kyiv and evacuated employees following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the soft drinks bottler said, adding that it scrapped its forecasts for the full year.
The group had previously outlined its forecast for the year at its full-year 2021 results announcement, which took place on 22 February.
Worsening Situation
'With the release of our full year 2021 results announcement [...], Coca-Cola HBC set guidance for the year in a wide range that considered geopolitical risks, as well as headwinds from commodities and currencies,' the bottler said in a statement.
'However, in the last week the situation involving Ukraine and Russia has clearly developed further and faster than anticipated.'
The London-listed company, one of the many bottlers for Coca-Cola worldwide, generated about 20% of 2021 volumes and operating profit from both Russia and Ukraine.
The group said that it halted production at its plant in Kyiv on 24 February, adding that it is 'still too early' to quantify the impact that the evolving situation will have on its full-year results.
Mitigate Negative Headwinds
'We continue to execute well in every area where we have control and will focus on factors that can mitigate the negative headwinds,' it added.
'We are prepared to utilise revenue growth management actions, including pricing, to offset currency depreciation and higher input costs. We are also ready to redeploy marketing spend and capex investment to other markets. Operating expense management is embedded in our business and will continue to be a key element of our plans for the year.'
It added that it remains in constant contact with its personnel in Ukraine and Russia and are 'doing everything we can to support them'.
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