By Ian Neubuaer
Coca Cola Amatil (CCA) managing director, Terry Davis, joined the mounting chorus of criticism being levelled at the Government’s RTD tax hike at the company’s AGM in Sydney yesterday.
“If their objective is to stop bring drinking, which we fully support, then that is not going to do that,” he said. “It’s exactly the reverse [and] it will encourage younger adults to buy spirits and then mix their own.”
“The whole thing about alcoholic RTDs is that it is portion controlled, and you know that it’s your can. If (the Rudd Government) is fair dinkum about the binge drinking issue, they must increase the tax on cask wine and they must increase the tax on beer, or alternatively bring the tax back on alcoholic beverage drinks,” he said.
Commenting on CCA’s fiscal performance, Davis told shareholders sales had been depressed in the first half of the year as a result of an unusually wet summer, but the company expected stronger sales in the second half of the year. He said sales of high-margin vitamin-enriched waters, energy drinks and a luxury version of Coke packaged in a collectable glass bottle would increase sales in the second half of the year.
CCA shares climbed nearly 6 per cent yesterday and were trading for $8.36 at 10:00am today.
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