The Irish arm of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, which bottles and distributes Coke and other products, paid a €30 million interim dividend to its shareholders last year amid a rise in revenues and pretax profits.
Accounts recently filed for Coca-Cola HBC Ireland, the local arm of the London-listed Coca-Cola HBC, show its Irish sales surged by more than 14 per cent to €324.6 million while operating profits climbed by 15 per cent to €36.8 million.
Profits before tax, meanwhile, increased by 18.4 per cent in the 12 months to the end of December last to €37.9 million.
The Irish entity, which is registered at Coca-Cola’s headquarters in the Republic in Huntstown Business Park, Dublin, paid close to €4.7 million in corporation taxes in the year, according to the accounts.
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Coca-Cola HBC Ireland paid two interim dividends to its parent group of €1.88 per preference share, totalling €30 million last year, unchanged from 2022. In a note attached to the accounts, the directors said the Irish operation “generates excess cash that is repatriated to the parent” through dividends and that the generation of excess cash flow is expected “to continue into the future”.
[ NI bottling franchise of Coca-Cola records turnover of £335mOpens in new window ]
The company employed 263 people on average last year, up from 259, increasing staffing costs from more than €21 million to just under €24.7 million in 2023.
Earlier this year, the Irish operation’s plan to buy Irish vending machines company BDS Vending Solutions became the focus of a full-scale investigation from the State’s competition watchdog.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said in September it is to carry out a so-called phase two investigation into the deal, which was announced in February without the financial terms being disclosed.
Coca-Cola HBC is mainly in the business of bottling and distributing a range of drinks. It also offers full-service vending solutions to customers, including the installation, operation and servicing of vending machines.
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