Athens, Nov 5 - Greek bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCH) , the world's second-largest bottler of Coca-Cola , said on Thursday third-quarter net profit fell 3 percent, as demand softened in the economic downturn.
CCH said net profit was 206.1 million euros ($303.9 million), versus an average forecast of 205.4 million in a Reuters poll.
The global downturn has led to consumers cutting spending and to currency devaluations, hurting CCH's business, particularly in developing countries such as Russia and Nigeria, which account for about two thirds of CCH's sales.
"Although the economic outlook is still uncertain, the fundamentals of our business remain strong ... evidenced by the shares gains we achieved in the third quarter in the non-alcoholic, ready-to-drink beverage category," managing director Doros Constantinou said in a statement.
The group said third-quarter sales volume came in at 584 million unit cases, below analysts' average forecast of 611 million, helped by the acquisition of Italian bottler Socib.
Foreign exchange losses weighed on revenues, which fell 9 percent to 1.88 billion euros.
The stock trades at 15 times estimated 2009 earnings, versus a multiple of 12 for Coca Cola Enterprises , the world's largest bottler of Coke drinks, and a multiple of 15.6 for rival Pepsi Bottling , according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.