Coca-Cola HBC flags one-time $195M hit from Russian operations

FILE PHOTO: Coca-Cola bottles are seen on sale in central St. Petersburg. Alexander Demianchuk/REUTERS/File photo

Coca-Cola HBC AG said on Thursday it incurred a one-time hit of 190 million euros ($195.36 million) in the first-half due to costs related to its business in Russia after it stopped sale of Coca-Cola drinks in the country following the Ukraine war.

The soft drinks bottler, which once counted Russia as one of its biggest markets, also expects to sustain financial charges of about 82 million euros in the second-half as it depleted all its stocks and would no longer produce or sell Coca-Cola or other brands of the Coca-Cola Co.  in Russia.

HBC is one of Coca-Cola’s many bottlers worldwide and holds local Coca-Cola franchises to bottle and sell drinks produced by the U.S. beverage giant. Coca-Cola holds more than 20 percent stake in HBC.

The London-listed firm also reported a 34- percent fall in net profit at about 153 million euros for the six months ending July 1, hit by the charges.

It also reinstated its forecast, expecting comparable operating profit for 2022 to be between 740 million euros and 820 million euros.

($1 = 0.9726 euros)