Dive Brief:
- Coca-Cola HBC reported a net loss of $49.1 million in the first quarter, roughly twice what analysts had forecast.
- The company, which bottles and ships Coca-Cola products in 28 counties on three continents, was hurt by currency problems that grew out of the political turmoil in Russia and the Urkraine.
- Russia is the company's largest market. Sales there grew by 1%.
Dive Insight:
Despite the abysmal number on the bottom line, there is some good news in the quarterly report.
First, sales actually rose in Russia. Should the political and currency situation there be resolved, Coca-Cola HBC could swing back to profit fairly quickly.
Second, sales also rose in Greece -- the first such increase in that troubled economy in four years. That's not just good financial news, it's good for the company's morale. Greece is Coca-Cola HBC's former home. Once known as Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co., it moved its headquarters to Switzerland and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2012.
