Results for the Nine Months ended 27 September2013

 RESULTS FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDED 27 SEPTEMBER 2013

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Notes

¹ Comparative amounts have been adjusted to reflect the impact of new accounting standards adopted in 2012, as detailed in note 1 to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements.

²Comparable Net Profit refers to comparable net profit after tax attributable to owners of the parent.             

Dimitris Lois, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola HBC AG, commented:

"Currency neutral net sales revenue per case increased for the ninth consecutive quarter. The volume decline in our established and developing markets reflects the ongoing difficult macroeconomic environment in Europe. Our emerging markets were characterised by varying levels of performance and more difficult comparables, concealing the underlying growth in some of our countries. Trademark Coca-Cola products grew by 3% and remained a key driver of volume in the quarter.

We are very pleased to deliver margin improvements at both the comparable gross profit and EBIT level in the third quarter. This is a clear reflection of our ongoing commitment to improve our operational efficiency.

We anticipate that the trading conditions will remain difficult for the rest of 2013. We are confident in our ability to continue to drive operational performance and deliver on our strategic commitments: winning in the marketplace, growing currency neutral net sales revenue per case and focusing on cost leadership through tight operating expense control and disciplined working capital management.

In addition, our business continues to generate significant free cash flow, enabling us to invest in sustainable growth and create long-term shareholder value.

We are proud that our commitment to sustainable, profitable growth has been recognised for the sixth consecutive year through our inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, ranking first in Europe and second in the World in the beverages sector."

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING THE INFORMATION SET OUT HEREIN

Unless otherwise indicated, the condensed consolidated interim financial statements and the financial and operating data or other information included herein relate to Coca-Cola HBC AG and its subsidiaries ("Coca-Cola HBC" or the "Company" or "we" or the "Group").

This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as "believe", "outlook", "guidance", "intend", "expect", "anticipate", "plan", "target" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts, including, among others, statements regarding our future financial position and results, our outlook for 2013 and future years, business strategy and the effects of the global economic slowdown, the impact of the sovereign debt crisis, currency volatility, our recent acquisitions, and restructuring initiatives on our business and financial condition, our future dealings with The Coca-Cola Company, budgets, projected levels of consumption and production, projected raw material and other costs, estimates of capital expenditure, free cash flow, effective tax rates and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect our current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. Our actual results and events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many reasons, including the risks described in the annual report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (File No 1-31466) for Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 December 2012.

Although we believe that, as of the date of this document, the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that our future results, level of activity, performance or achievements will meet these expectations. Moreover, neither we, nor our directors, employees, advisors nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements. After the date of the condensed consolidated interim financial statements included in this document, unless we are required by law or the rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority to update these forward-looking statements, we will not necessarily update any of these forward-looking statements to conform them either to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

Reconciliation of Reported to Comparable Financial Indicators (numbers in € million except per share data)

¹   Reported COGS refers to cost of goods sold.

²   Reported Gross Profit refers to gross profit.

³   Reported Operating Expenses refers to operating expenses.

⁴   Reported EBIT refers to operating profit.

⁵   Adjusted EBITDA refers to operating profit before deductions for depreciation and impairment of property, plant and equipment (included both in cost of goods sold and in operating expenses), amortisation and impairment of intangible assets, employee share options and other non-cash items, if any (refer to 'Supplementary information' section).

⁶   Reported Finance Costs refers to total net finance costs.

⁷   Reported Net Profit refers to profit after tax attributable to owners of the parent.

⁸   Reported EPS refers to basic earnings per share.

⁹   The Group has entered into certain commodity derivative transactions in order to mitigate its exposure to commodity price risk. Although these transactions are economic hedging activities that aim to manage our exposure to sugar and aluminium price volatility, they do not qualify for hedge accounting. The fair value gains and losses on the derivatives are immediately recognised in the income statement in the cost of goods sold line item. The Group's comparable results exclude the unrealised gains or losses resulting from the mark-to-market valuation of this hedging activity. These gains or losses will be reflected in the comparable results in the period when the underlying transactions will occur, to match the profit or loss impact of the underlying transactions.

¹⁰ Non-recurring items refer mainly to the transactions costs related to the re-domiciliation and the admission of the Group to listing on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange as well as the review of the structure of the Group. Further to that, non-recurring finance costs also relate to the tender offer for the €500 million bond maturing in January 2014.

¹¹  Comparative amounts have been adjusted to reflect the impact of new accounting standards adopted in 2012, as detailed in note 1 to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements.

Group Operational Review

Coca-Cola HBC AG ("Coca-Cola HBC" or "we" or the "Company" or the "Group") achieved comparable earnings per share of €0.41 in the third quarter and €0.71 in the first nine months, posting a marginal decline of €0.01 year-on-year in the first nine months. Unit case volume declined by 3% in the third quarter and by 2% in the first nine months of 2013. Macroeconomic and trading conditions remained challenging across most of our territories. Disposable income continued to be under pressure and unemployment remained at record high levels. At the same time, we have been experiencing varying levels of performance in most of our emerging markets.

We continue to win in the marketplace. In the third quarter of 2013, we gained or maintained volume share in sparkling beverages and value share in the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages ("NARTD") category in the majority of our markets. Markets in which we gained or maintained volume share in sparkling beverages include Austria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. In the NARTD category, we gained or maintained value share in Austria, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia and Serbia, among others.

In the third quarter, sales volume of Trademark Coca-Cola products grew by 3%, registering volume growth across all our reporting segments. In the quarter, Coca-Cola regular grew by 2%, while Coca-Cola Zero continued to perform strongly, growing by 18%. In the first nine months, sales volume of Trademark Coca-Cola products increased by 2%, with Coca-Cola regular growing by 2% and Coca-Cola Zero by 16%. Overall, our sparkling beverages volume declined by 1% in the quarter, reflecting a 1% increase in our developing markets, offset by a 1% decline in both our established and emerging markets. Volume of our sparkling beverages increased by 1% in the nine months, as a result of a 4% increase in emerging markets, flat volume in developing markets and a 3% decline in established markets.

In the ready-to-drink tea category our volume declined by 11% in the quarter, cycling an 8% growth in the prior year, while year-to-date volume was down by 4%. Our volume in the energy category grew by 2% in the quarter, marking the fourteenth consecutive quarter of growth, with 4% growth in both developing and emerging markets. For the nine months of 2013, our volume in the energy category grew by 4%. Our volume in the juice category returned to growth, increasing by 2% in the third quarter, primarily driven by strong performance in Russia and Poland. In the first nine months, the juice category declined by 1%, with 3% growth in emerging markets and a flat performance in developing markets, being more than offset by a 14% decline in established markets. Our volume in the water category declined by 10% in the third quarter and by 9% in the nine months, with negative trends across all three reporting segments, reflecting both overall market trends in most of our key water markets, as well as our strategy to rationalize our different offerings while growing value ahead of volume.

Package mix continued to improve in both periods, in sparkling and still categories, despite the continuous shift in demand towards at-home consumption and organised trade. The positive package mix is primarily supported by our occasion-based brand, package, price and channel strategy ("OBPPC"), as well as our "Share a Coke" marketing campaign which was launched in the second quarter.

Net sales revenue declined by 5% in the quarter and by 3% in the nine month period, reflecting a significant negative impact from foreign currency movements. Our OBPPC strategy and selected pricing enabled us to increase currency neutral net sales revenue per unit case for the ninth consecutive quarter. On a currency neutral basis, net sales revenue per unit case has been maintained since the beginning of the year, increasing by 1% in both the third quarter and the first nine months of 2013.

Currency neutral input costs per case grew by 0.5% in the third quarter and by 1% in the first nine months. Overall, the input costs environment has evolved in line with our expectations. In absolute terms, total input costs on a currency neutral basis declined by 3% compared to prior year, while at the same time our revenue growth initiatives continued to have a positive impact, leading to a 20 bps gross profit margin improvement in the quarter, after eleven quarters of gross margin erosion.

Comparable operating expenses as a percentage of net sales revenue reduced by 20 bps in the quarter and by 30 bps in the nine months of the year, reflecting better operational efficiency across our business, despite the negative operating leverage due to volume decline. The improvement in the quarter was primarily due to reduced sales and administrative expenses. On a segmental basis, the main drivers of the improvement in operating expenses as a percentage of net sales revenue were the developing and established markets, partly reflecting the benefits of our ongoing restructuring initiatives.

Our comparable operating profit (EBIT) reached €207 million in the quarter, posting a 2% decline compared to prior year. Lower operating expenses and benefits from our revenue growth initiatives, were not enough to compensate for the decline in volume and the negative impact from currency movements. In the first nine months of 2013, comparable operating profit was €386 million, declining by 3%.

Overall, we grew our comparable EBIT margin by 40 bps in the third quarter of the year and maintained our nine-month comparable EBIT margin flat.

During the first nine months of the year, we incurred €24 million in pre-tax restructuring charges, approximately €2 million of which was incurred in the third quarter. We expect such initiatives to further improve productivity and create a more agile and efficient organisation.

We continue to deliver solid free cash flow and working capital improvements. We generated €248 million of free cash flow in the third quarter and €345 million in the nine month period. This compares with €277 million and €362 million respectively in the comparable prior year periods. In the third quarter, cash generated from working capital reduction was €79 million. 

On 20 September 2013, Coca-Cola HBC was included as a constituent of the FTSE 100 and FTSE All - Share indices. This was another key milestone for our company and we expect this to further benefit our shareholders through enhanced liquidity.

Sustainability is deeply entrenched in our corporate culture. In this respect, we are very proud to have been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the sixth consecutive year, ranking first in Europe and second of the world's top beverage companies in sustainability. In addition, in June, our Greek, Croatian and Romanian operations were each awarded at the European Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award Scheme. Awards include the "Mission Water" for Coca-Cola HBC Greece on water sustainability, the "Business Language Manual" for Coca-Cola HBC Croatia on linguistic culture integration in the workplace and the marketplace, and the "Adopt a River" for Coca-Cola HBC Romania on protection of local watersheds and raising environmental awareness.

Operational Review by Reporting Segment

Note: Comparative amounts have been adjusted to reflect the impact of new accounting standards adopted in 2012, as detailed in note 1 to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements. 

§ Unit case volume in our established markets segment decreased by 4% in the third quarter, registering a sequential improvement versus trends in the previous two quarters, following a 3% decline in the comparable prior year period. Volume declined by 5% in the first nine months of 2013, following a 5% decline in the comparable prior year periods. The main drivers of volume decline in the segment during the quarter were the weakness in all key categories in Italy and Greece.

§ Net sales revenue declined by 5% in the third quarter and 6% in the nine month period. Lower volume, negative price/mix and unfavourable currency movements negatively impacted performance in both periods. Currency neutral net sales revenue per case declined by 1% in the third quarter while it was flat in the nine month period. 

§ Volume in Italy declined by high single-digits in both the third quarter and the first nine months of 2013. Austerity measures continue to impact disposable income, and unemployment remains at high levels. In the third quarter, volume pressure was evident across all categories. A 9% volume increase in Coca-Cola Zero partially offset volume pressure in the sparkling beverages category in the quarter. Package mix improved, driven by higher sales of single serve packages in our water category. We expect trading conditions to remain difficult as a result of the challenging macroeconomic environment in the country. We gained volume and value share in both sparkling beverages and overall NARTD.

§ Volume in Greece declined by high single-digits in the third quarter of 2013, with the rate of decline decelerating compared to previous quarters. Volume for the nine month period declined by low teens. Disposable income is expected to decline further in the remainder of 2013 while unemployment remains at the historically high level of 27.7%. Sparkling beverages were more resilient and declined by mid single-digits in the quarter.

§ Volume in Switzerland increased by mid single-digits in the third quarter and by low single-digits in the first nine months of the year. Volume growth in the quarter was driven by sparkling beverages, as Trademark Coca-Cola products recorded a mid single-digit volume increase, while Coca-Cola Zero continued its positive trend, with volume increasing by mid teens in the third quarter of the year.

§ Volume in Ireland recorded high single-digit growth in the third quarter, while volume in the first nine months of 2013 increased by low single-digits. The volume growth was driven by the sparkling category, supported by our "Share a Coke" campaign and favourable weather. Package mix continued to improve, driven by increased volume of single-serve packages in the sparkling beverages category.

§ Comparable operating profit in the established markets segment increased by 3% to €74 million in the third quarter of 2013. Benefits from tighter operating expense management more than offset lower volume, negative price/mix and higher input costs in the third quarter. Comparable operating profit declined to €136 million in the first nine months of 2013 from €147 million in the comparable period last year. Lower operating expenses were not sufficient to offset lower volume, negative price/mix and higher input costs in the nine month period.

Note: Comparative amounts have been adjusted to reflect the impact of new accounting standards adopted in 2012, as detailed in note 1 to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements. 

§ Unit case volume in our developing markets segment decreased by 2% in the third quarter and by 3% in the first nine months of 2013, following a flat performance and a 2% decline respectively in the comparable prior year periods. Challenging economic conditions impacted volume performance across the segment, particularly in Hungary.

§ Net sales revenue declined by 2% in the third quarter and by 4% in the first nine months of the year. Benefits of improved price/mix were more than offset by negative currency translation impact and lower volume in the third quarter. Currency neutral net sales revenue per case was up 2% in the third quarter and flat in the first nine months of 2013 compared to the respective prior year periods.

§ Volume in Poland increased by low single-digits in the third quarter while it declined by low single-digits in the first nine months of the year. The low single-digit volume increase in sparkling beverages was driven by Trademark Coca-Cola products, with brand Coca-Cola recording high single-digits increase supported by our "Share a Coke" campaign and promotional activities and Coca-Cola Zero posting strong double digit growth in the quarter. Our juice brands posted low double-digit growth in the quarter, mainly as a result of the continuous successful execution of our 1L PET package.

§ Volume in Hungary declined by high single-digits in both the third quarter and the first nine months of the year, with volume weakness across all key categories. The economic environment remained volatile with consumer confidence being among the lowest in Europe and double-digit unemployment rate. Coca-Cola Zero outperformed our other sparkling beverages, posting strong double-digit growth for another quarter. Our volume in the energy category recorded solid double-digit growth, mainly reflecting the strong performance of our recently launched Burn Blue and Monster Rehab products. Package mix improved, as our "Share a Coke" campaign supported the performance of single serve packages.

§ Volume in the Czech Republic declined by low single-digits in the third quarter, while for the first nine months of the year volume was flat. Overall economic and political conditions remain volatile. Volume of Trademark Coca-Cola products grew by mid single-digits supported by our "Share a Coke" campaign, and driven by a low single-digit increase in brand Coca-Cola and a strong double-digit increase in Coca-Cola Zero.

§ Comparable operating profit in our developing markets increased off a small base by 43% in the third quarter and 30% in the first nine months of 2013. Lower operating expenses, favourable price/mix and lower input costs more than offset lower volume and unfavourable currency impact in the third quarter. In the first nine months of the year, lower operating expenses more than offset lower volume and negative cost mix.

Note: Comparative amounts have been adjusted to reflect the impact of new accounting standards adopted in 2012, as detailed in note 1 to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements. 

§ Unit case volume in our emerging markets segment declined by 4% in the third quarter of the year, following a 7% increase in the comparable prior year period. Strong performances in Nigeria and to a lesser extent in Russia were more than offset by volume declines in Romania, Ukraine and Serbia. For the first nine months of 2013, volume increased by 1%, following a 3% increase in the comparable prior year period.

§ Net sales revenue declined by 6% in the third quarter while it increased by 1% in the first nine months of 2013. Positive price/mix was not enough to offset lower volumes and the substantial negative impact from currency translation in the third quarter. In the nine month period, positive price/mix and higher volume more than compensated for the negative impact from currency translation. Currency neutral net sales revenue per case increased by 3% in both periods under review.

§ Volume in Russia grew by low single-digits in the third quarter and by mid single-digits in the first nine months of 2013, following a low double-digits increase in the third quarter and a high single-digits growth in the first nine months of 2012. This was the eighth consecutive quarter of volume increase in Russia. Growth in sparkling beverages and juice more than offset declines in the water and ready-to-drink tea categories. Positive impact of our OBPPC initiatives and strong execution of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games sponsorship supported an 11% growth in brand Coca-Cola, marking the twelfth consecutive quarter of volume and share expansion. Our volume in the juice category grew by low double-digits in the quarter, with growth coming from both our mainstream brand Dobry, which posted low-teens growth, as well as our premium brand Rich, which recorded high-teens growth in the quarter.

§ Volume in Nigeria grew by high single-digits in the third quarter of the year, following a mid single-digit increase in the corresponding period last year. In the first nine months of 2013, volume increased by low-teens. Our focused pricing initiatives and increased marketing activities, as well as improved availability, supported volume growth. Sparkling beverages was the main growth driver, recording a low double digit increase in the quarter, also supported by a low-teens growth in water. Brand Coca-Cola recorded a 14% growth in the quarter, while Fanta and Sprite grew by high single-digits.

§ Volume in Romania declined by mid-teens in the third quarter, following a high single-digits increase in the corresponding period last year. Volume decreased by low double-digits in the first nine months of the year. Performance was negatively impacted by the deteriorating macroeconomic environment and competitive promotional pressures. Volume declined in all key categories, except for the juice category which posted low double-digits growth due to our launch of Cappy Pulpy Orange. Coca-Cola Zero outperformed among sparkling beverages, recording 23% volume growth in the quarter. We gained volume and value share in both sparkling beverages and overall NARTD.

§ Volume in Ukraine declined by low-teens in the third quarter of the year, mainly driven by declines in the juice and water categories, following a mid single-digit decline in the comparable prior year quarter. Volume in the first nine months of 2013 decreased by low double-digits. We gained volume and value share in sparkling beverages category. Overall, the economic environment in the country remains fragile impacting consumer demand. Volume declined in the mid single digits in sparkling beverages, with only Trademark Coca-Cola products posting low single-digits growth, supported by increased distribution.

§ Comparable operating profit in the emerging markets segment reached €96 million in the third quarter of 2013, compared to €112 million of operating profit in the same period last year. Improved price/mix and lower input costs were not enough to offset a significant negative currency impact, lower volume, and higher operating expenses in the third quarter. Comparable operating profit reached €208 million in the first nine months of the year, compared to €218 million in the same period last year, with the decline attributable to higher operating expenses and unfavorable currency impact which were not offset by positive price/mix performance, higher volume and lower input costs.

Business Outlook

For the remainder of the year, we expect the challenging macroeconomic and trading conditions to persist across most of our territories, with economic uncertainty, austerity measures and high unemployment continuing to pressure disposable income. We face continuing challenging comparables in our emerging markets and we expect varying levels of performance in the last quarter. Although we were pleased to see the rate of decline in the established and developing segments moderate in the third quarter, we are cautious, as the consumer sentiment remains under pressure. We do not anticipate the current trading conditions to change in the last quarter of the year.

Our strategic priorities remain unchanged. We are focused on winning in the marketplace, while growing currency neutral net sales revenue per case through our OBPPC initiatives and selective pricing initiatives. Addressing affordability remains a key element of our strategy in order to stay relevant to our consumers.

We have clear category priorities in pursuing our strategy in the marketplace. We continue to focus on growing volume and value shares in the sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink tea and energy categories, with value growing faster than volume. In the juice category, we maintain a selective approach focusing on immediate consumption and the most profitable future consumption packages on a country-by-country basis. In the water category, our strategy is to continue rationalizing our different offerings while growing value ahead of volume.

We continue to expect currency neutral net sales revenue per unit case in 2013 to grow year-on-year, albeit at a slower pace than in 2012, and for currency neutral input costs per case to increase by low single-digits.

We also continue to execute on our 2013 restructuring plans and remain confident that we can achieve our targeted benefits. We expect the initiatives already taken in 2012 and those that we are taking in 2013 to yield approximately €65 million in total benefits in 2013. We continue to expect costs of just over €50 million from restructuring initiatives in 2013 that are expected to yield approximately €30 million of annualised benefits from 2014 onwards.

Taking into account the performance of our hedged positions, our latest forecasts and the improved visibility as we go through the last quarter of the year, we now expect the negative impact from currency movements in 2013 to be lower than in 2012.

We reiterate our expectations for a comparable effective tax rate for the mid-term in the range of 23-25%.

During the three year period ending 31 December 2015, we aim to generate free cash flow of approximately €1.3 billion. Net annual capital expenditure over the medium-term is expected to range between 5.5% and 6.5% of net sales revenue, reflecting our commitment to investing in the long-term development of our business. We are committed to maintaining strong discipline in working capital management, with the aim to drive solid free cash flow generation in the full year.

We manage our business for the long-term. We are confident that we have the right strategy in place to grow in a sustainable and profitable way, leveraging some of the world's best known and loved brands across a diversified geographical footprint, characterized by low per capita consumption and market share growth opportunities.

¹   Refer to the 'Reconciliation of Reported to Comparable Financial Indicators' section.

²    Refer to 'Supplementary Information' section.

³    Note: Comparative amounts have been adjusted to reflect the impact of new accounting standards adopted in 2012, as detailed in note 1 to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements.

Net sales revenue

Net sales revenue per unit case decreased by 2% during the third quarter and by 1% during the first nine months of 2013, compared to the respective prior year period, on a reported basis. On a currency neutral basis, net sales revenue per unit case increased by 1% both in the third quarter and for the first nine months of 2013, compared to the respective prior year periods.

Cost of goods sold

Comparable cost of goods sold decreased by 5% during the third quarter and by 2% for the first nine months of 2013, compared to the respective prior year periods. Overall, the input cost environment has evolved in line with our expectations.

Gross profit

Comparable gross profit margin increased from 36.6% in the third quarter of 2012 to 36.8% in the third quarter of 2013 and decreased from 36.3% in the first nine months of 2012 to 35.9% in the first nine months of 2013.

Operating expenses

Comparable operating expenses decreased by 6% during the third quarter and by 4% during the first nine months of 2013 versus the respective prior year periods, reflecting better operating efficiency across our business, despite the negative leverage due to volume decline. The improvement in the quarter was primarily relating to reduced sales and administrative expenses.

Operating profit

Comparable operating profit decreased by 2% in the third quarter and by 3% in the first nine months of 2013, compared to the respective prior year periods, as lower volume and the negative impact from currency movements more than offset the benefits from our revenue growth initiatives and the lower operating expenses.

Total net finance costs

Comparable total net finance costs decreased by €4.9 million during the third quarter and by €8.5 million during the first nine months of 2013, compared to the respective prior year periods.

Tax

On a comparable basis, Coca-Cola HBC's effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2013 was approximately 23% compared to 22% in the first nine months of 2012. The Group's effective tax rate varies quarterly depending on the mix of taxable profits by territory, the non-deductibility of certain expenses, non-taxable income and other one-off tax items across its territories.

Profit after tax attributable to owners of the parent

On a comparable basis, profit after tax attributable to owners of the parent decreased by 5% in the third quarter and by 2% in the first nine months of 2013 compared to the respective prior year periods, mainly driven by the reduced operating profitability.

Net cash from operating activities

Net cash from operating activities decreased by 11% in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the respective prior year period, mainly attributed to the gradually diminishing positive contribution from working capital, as we approach our zero working capital target. For the first nine months of 2013, net cash from operating activities decreased by 8% compared to the respective prior year period, mainly on the back of the reduced profit and the diminishing working capital improvement during the period, partly offset by the reduced payments for taxes. Cash flow from operating activities net of capital expenditure decreased by 11% during the third quarter and by 5% during the first nine months of 2013 compared to the respective prior year periods, reflecting mainly the reduced cash from operating activities that was partly offset by the reduced capital expenditure outflows.

Capital expenditure

Capital expenditure, net of receipts from the disposal of assets and including principal repayments of finance lease obligations, reduced by 12% in the third quarter and by 11% in the first nine months of 2013 compared to the respective prior year periods. In the first nine months of 2013, capital expenditure amounted to €257.4 million of which 41% was related to investment in production equipment and facilities and 26% to the acquisition of marketing equipment. In the first nine months of 2012, capital expenditure amounted to €290.2 million of which 42% was related to investment in production equipment and facilities and 34% to the acquisition of marketing equipment.

¹ Note: Comparative amounts have been adjusted to reflect the impact of new accounting standards adopted in 2012, as detailed in note 1 to the condensed consolidated interim financial statements.

² Adjusted EBITDA refers to operating profit before deductions for depreciation and impairment of property, plant and equipment (included both in cost of goods sold and in operating expenses), amortisation and impairment of intangible assets, employee share options and other non-cash items, if any.

Coca-Cola HBC Group

Coca-Cola HBC is the second-largest bottler of products of The Coca-Cola Company in terms of volume with sales of more than 2 billion unit cases. It has a broad geographic footprint with operations in 28 countries serving a population of approximately 581 million people. Coca-Cola HBC offers a diverse range of NARTD beverages in the sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, tea and coffee categories. Coca-Cola HBC is committed to promoting sustainable development in order to create value for its business and for society. This includes providing products that meet the beverage needs of consumers, fostering an open and inclusive work environment, conducting its business in ways that protect and preserve the environment and contribute to the socio-economic development of the local communities.

Coca-Cola HBC has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: CCH) and its shares are listed on the Athens Exchange (ATHEX: EEE). Coca-Cola HBC's American depositary shares (ADSs) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CCH). Coca-Cola HBC is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indexes. For more information, please visit http://www.coca-colahellenic.com/.

Coca-Cola HBC will host a conference call with financial analysts to discuss the third quarter and nine month financial results on 7 November 2013 at 10:00 am Swiss time (9:00 am London, 11:00am Athens, and 4:00 am New York time). Interested parties can access the live, audio webcast of the call through Coca-Cola HBC's website (www.coca-colahellenic.com/investorrelations/webcasts).

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