Coca-Cola Co. on Thursday said an earlier completion of a major European bottling merger will drag results in the current quarter.
Coke now expects the net impact of acquisitions, divestitures and other structural items to be a 5 to 6 point headwind on revenue and a 4 to 5 point headwind on income before taxes in the second quarter.
Last August, three Coca-Cola Co. bottlers agreed to a merger combining $12 billion in revenue across 13 European countries, part of a global consolidation push by the U.S. soda giant to cut costs amid slowing sales.
Publicly traded bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., which makes and distributes Coke in eight European countries including the U.K. and France, combined with Spain’s privately held Coca-Cola Iberian Partners SA and Germany’s Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke AG, the latter owned by Atlanta-based Coke.
The tie-up, which was completed May 28—about one month before expectations—formed the world’s largest independent Coke bottler by revenue.
By Anne Steele
Source: Wall Street Journal
Cécile Béliot has assumed the role of Bel Group chief executive officer, following the decision to separate the roles of chairman and CEO. The separation of the functions will enable Bel Group to develop in three areas of healthy snacking. Meanwhile, the company’s former CEO, Antoine Fiévet, has had his mandate renewed as chairman of the board.
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf was grilled by lawmakers during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, where he was slammed over the agency’s handling of the escalating infant formula shortage.
Sweegen is ramping up its efforts to reduce sugar across F&B applications while simultaneously tapping into the benefits of using antioxidants and bitter blocking technology. Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Casey McCormick, vice president of global innovation at Sweegen, says product developers can find a broad range of solutions in Sweegen’s nature-based sweetener systems as brands elevate better-for-you foods.
