1.3 Billion TL Investment from Coca-Cola

• $1.3 Billion Investment from Coca-Cola

Karim Yahi, CEO of Coca-Cola İçecek (CCI), emphasized their commitment to continue investing in 2024 without compromising their investment strategy ahead of demand. He stated, “The year 2023 was a year in which we continued our investments intensively without compromising our investment strategy ahead of demand. In 2023, as CCI, we made a total investment of 6.1 billion TL,” highlighting their intention to continue investments in 2024.

Istanbul – Coca-Cola İçecek (CCI) announced its financial results for 2023. Despite a 2.6% decrease in consolidated sales volume compared to the previous year, CCI announced that they did not slow down on investments, making a total investment of 6.1 billion TL into their operational geography. CCI’s organic net sales revenue increased by 8.4% in 2023, while net profit increased by 48.3%. CCI’s full-year operating profit (EBITDA) increased by 26.2% to 14.5 billion TL.

While the Turkish market saw a 25.7% increase in net sales revenue in 2023, net sales revenue per unit case increased by 32.4%. In overseas operations where inflation accounting is not mandatory, net sales revenue grew by 59.3%, with net sales revenue per unit case in TL increasing by 61.2%. Adjusted for currency effects, there was a 21% increase.

Effective portfolio utilization in a challenging economy drove growth
Karim Yahi, CEO of Coca-Cola İçecek, commented on the year-end financial results for 2023, saying, “In 2023, we faced challenges in our operations due to natural disasters, economic difficulties, and political unrest in neighboring countries. These issues affected our business by dampening consumer spending appetite. As a result, our sales volume saw a 2.6% decrease on a consolidated basis, lower than the expectation we shared at the beginning of the year. This weakness was compensated for by our effective income growth management strategy, which includes dynamic pricing and promotion optimization, as well as effective portfolio utilization actions.”

A $1.3 Billion Investment without compromising on demand-driven investment strategy
Despite the decline in sales volume, Karim Yahi stated that they did not deviate from their demand-driven investment strategy and continued their investments intensively. He said, “In 2023, 33% of our total investment expenditure directed towards Turkey operations amounted to 6.1 billion TL. The investment-to-sales ratio was 6.1% in 2023. Our investments will continue in 2024, including the establishment of two new factories in Çimkent, Kazakhstan, and Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In 2024, we will also lay the foundations for our factories in İsmayıllı, Azerbaijan; Baghdad, Iraq; and Namangan, Uzbekistan. With the strength of our business model and our focus on quality growth algorithms, we continue to create value in the countries where we operate.”

“Serving a population of 600 million with the acquisition in Bangladesh”
Karim Yahi highlighted the recent completion of the acquisition of Coca-Cola Bangladesh Beverages Limited, which they worked on throughout 2023. He stated, “The acquisition of Coca-Cola Bangladesh Beverages Limited is a significant milestone for us. By reaching 600 million people from Çorlu in Turkey to the border of China, we have become the largest third-party bottler in the Coca-Cola system. With our 31 bottling plants, 3 fruit processing facilities, and more than 10,000 employees, we serve approximately 1.2 million sales points. Bangladesh has a bright future ahead, and we eagerly look forward to growing and creating value in Bangladesh using our capabilities.”