Coca-Cola HBC is planning investments exceeding the 65 million euros of this year’s budget.
The new General Manager of Coca-Cola Hellenic for Greece and Cyprus, Svetoslav Atanasov, said that “Greece emerged as the best bottler worldwide in the group in 2023. This year we continue to grow and we aspire to maintain the positive trajectory in 2025 as well.”
Asked about the funds allocated by the company in 2024 to support its plans, he stated that the investments focus on infrastructure and productivity, strengthening partnerships with the market, innovation and sustainability. The plans for the new year also focus in the same direction.
As noted, the 2025 investment plan will be higher than that of 2024, however the final amount will be “locked” in early January.
According to the CEO of Coca Cola Hellas for Greece, Cyprus and Malta, Stavros Mourelatos, “2025 starts with a good momentum both for Greece and globally. We want to continue on this positive growth trajectory.”
As for the course of 2024, the estimates for the last quarter of the year, which includes the strong Christmas period, are that the positive trend of the nine months will be maintained. It is recalled that Coca Cola’s revenues showed a growth rate of 13.7% in the nine months of 2024 and amounted to 8.22 billion euros. In Greece, sales volumes increased by a mid-single digit percentage, benefiting from the implementation of the well-planned strategy during the summer season.
Regarding the government measures to combat high prices (gross profit cap, limitation on offers), Svetoslav noted that “the measures are a given and within this environment we continue to operate. Despite the limitations, we managed to evolve and continue our growth.”
On the possibility of new price increases in 2025, the company’s head said that prices of basic raw materials such as coffee and juices are showing significant increases. The company is examining its pricing policy by category, however, it is absorbing part of the increases since it focuses on maintaining consumer affordability for its portfolio.
