By Ian Neubauer
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has delivered a record net profit after tax of $366.3 million for 2007, representing an increase of 13 per cent on 2006.
CCA sold 504 million cases of beverages in 2007, representing a 3.5 increase on 2006. Dividends per share climbed 3 cents to reach 35.5 cents per share, representing a 9.2 per cent increase on the previous year.
CCA group managing director, Terry Davis, said the company’s profit was achieved through a solid contribution from the company’s nascent beer range and strong performance in the non-alcoholic drinks sector in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.
“The result has been driven by improved pricing and product mix, a number of successful new product launches, and the incremental earnings generated by our significant capital investment program and the Trans-Tasman business integration,” Davis said.
The 3.5 per cent growth in volume did not include the company’s fledging South Korean business that was sold to the LG group in October of last year at an after income tax expense of $59 million.
The figures were published this morning on the Australian Stock Exchange within CCA’s final report for 2007.