Athens, Feb 10 - Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCH), the No.2 bottler of Coca-Cola drinks, is seen posting a 21.8 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit as cost cuts more than offset lower soft drink demand, according to a Reuters poll.
The average of 8 analysts' forecasts is for a quarterly net profit 45.78 million euros ($59.33 million), up from 37.60 million in the same period in 2007.
CCH bottles Coke-branded products in 27 countries across Europe and in Nigeria, with more than half of its revenues coming from its developing and emerging markets.
The soft drink industry has been badly hit by global economic downturn, which has forced consumers to cut down on general spending and impulse purchases of beverages.
CCH, which is 23.3 percent-owned by Coca Cola, has responded to the difficult economic environment by cutting 150 jobs in Poland and saying it is looking for opportunities to further reduce costs.
"We would expect a rebound in the fourth quarter as cost containment efforts ... and lower input prices should alleviate top line pressure due to weak volumes," Athens-based Piraeus Securities said in a note.
However, the broker said the fourth quarter -- traditionally a weak one in terms of sales volume -- was not enough to reverse CCH's lacklustre performance over the year.
The Reuters poll shows net profit for 2008 is expected to drop 0.87 percent to 468.2 million euros on average.
Last year, the Greek bottler cut its 2008 profit and volume targets twice, blaming the economic downturn and bad weather in key markets. The cuts prompted a series of broker downgrades.
CCH has said it expects full-year earnings per share will be broadly stable on 1.30 euros in 2007.
The bottler has also said it sees volume growth of 4 percent for the year after a decline in Russia, its largest market.
Investors will focus on CCH's 2009 outlook as the economic environment remains uncertain.
Analysts said there were also concerns that the strengthening of the euro versus currencies in Eastern Europe could further hurt the bottler's profits this year.
The stock trades at 8.7 times its estimated 2008 earnings, compared with a multiple of 9.7 for Coca Cola Enterprises, the world's largest bottler of Coke drinks, and 14 for rival Pepsico .
Analysts attribute the discount to CCH's higher exposure to foreign exchange risks and emerging markets than its peers.
The share price has fallen 60.4 percent since in the last 12 months compared with 59 percent decline for the Athens bourse's general index.
Following is a breakdown of analysts' forecasts, with net profit, EBIT, sales in millions of euros and volume in unit cases:
Q4 2008
Net EBIT Sales Volume Net
Average 45.78 99.19 1546.41 474.69 468.18
Median 45.90 99.30 1536.15 473.60 468.30
Highest 53.20 104.90 1586.70 483.00 475.60
Lowest 34.00 91.00 1526.10 469.00 456.40
No. of fcsts 8 8 8 8 8
2007 results 21.75 86.60 1459.80 465.00 472.30
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