Coca-Cola HBC announced on Thursday that it suffered a one-time loss of 190 million euros ($195.36 million) in the first half of 2022 relating to its Russian business due to its halting of sales to the country following its invasion of Ukraine. As a result of this loss, Coca-Cola HBC is expected to generate an operating profit between 740 million euros and 820 million euros for 2022; lower than the 831 million euros reported in 2021.
The Greek bottling company, which counted Russia as one of its largest markets, said that it will no longer produce or sell Coca-Cola products or other brands of the Coca-Cola Company to Russia. Its decision to deplete its stocks, as a result, is expected to result in financial charges of about 82 million euros during the second half of the year.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Coca-Cola HBC reported a fall in net profit of approximately 153 million euros for the six months ending July 1; a 34% decline. The company expects its challenges such as inflation and a rising cost of goods sold (COGS) per case to sustain in the second half of the year.