By Andrew Starke
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has appointed the ex-CEO of Scottish & Newcastle as a non-executive director in a clear sign of the increasing importance of its Pacific Beverages brewing business.
Tony Froggatt will take up the role from December 1.
Froggatt was the CEO of Scottish and Newcastle brewing company based in Edinburgh, UK until he retired in October 2007 to return to Australia.
The brewer, at the time the largest in the UK, was acquired jointly by Heineken and Carlsberg in April 2008, with the company's assets being split between them.
In a statement, CCA said Froggatt would bring a wealth of experience in global business and brand development in both mature and developing markets
In particular his extensive marketing and distribution knowledge should be invaluable to Pacific Beverages, CCA’s joint venture in Australia with SABMiller – especially as the brewer has expressed its ambitions to become the third biggest brewer in Australia.
In other CCA news, group managing director Terry Davis has confirmed that the company will continue to target high EBIT single-digit growth for the second half of 2010.
CCA’s guidance assumes a normal summer trading season for Australia and New Zealand and incorporates a $7-9 million currency impact due to the strong appreciation of the Australian dollar since September.
“Trading conditions in the third quarter have been challenging with unseasonal weather across Australia leading to lower demand for beverages, particularly in the convenience channel, as well as more aggressive market pricing for beverages in the grocery channel,” said Davis.
“Australian consumers are continuing to spend cautiously as they deal with the cumulative effect of increases in interest rates and utility costs over the past 12 months.
“Despite the tougher trading environment, we remain confident of meeting our earnings guidance with current trading tracking at 7-8% EBIT growth for the second half.”