By Andrew Starke
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has blamed the colder, wetter weather across the Eastern seaboard over December for a drop in soft-drink sales with the flooding in Queensland also anticipated to impact the bottom line.
In a statement the company advised shareholders that, following December trading, it expects to achieve around 10 percent growth in net profit and 7 percent growth in EBIT for the 2010 full year.
The impact of the inclement weather across the east coast, in particular the flooding in Queensland, will result in EBIT growth of 5 to 5.5 percent for the second half which will be below the 7 to 8 percent previously advised target.
However, second half net profit growth which benefited from lower interest and tax costs is expected to be 9 to 10 percent and is ahead of target.
“Trading conditions throughout the summer period have been challenging with unseasonal weather and lower consumer demand affecting CCA’s major trading zones across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria,” said CCA’s group managing director Terry Davis.
“Overall, our expectation of delivering 10% NPAT growth for the full year is a strong performance given the result also includes a $9.3 million one-off tax expense in New Zealand from the unexpected change in New Zealand tax legislation in the first half.”
The main beer producers are also expected to reveal lower profits with beer sales slumping by 11 percent in November, the largest monthly fall recorded by this category for five years.