Coca-Cola operating income rises 77%

Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) group of companies, the soft drinks and bottled water unit of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), reported a 77-percent increase in operating income during the first quarter.

The strong performance was primarily driven by strong volume gains in its subsidiaries that include CCBPI, the franchise holder of Coke products, and Philippine Beverage Partners Inc., manufacturer of bottled water Viva and Wilkins.

CCBPI alone registered a 388-percent jump in operating income for the first three months of the year versus the same period last year.

CCBPI benefited from its aggressive sales and marketing strategies and heightened consumer demand during the summer season. Launched for this season’s marketing campaign, is Coke’s "Hotta-Hottah" marketing promotions to capitalize on the festive and hot summer season. Marketing tie-ups and promo activities were also made with Jollibee and Bench to further excite the market.

CCBPI has also started to reap positive results from the restructuring program implemented last year to streamline its distribution network and systems. Patterned after SMC’s domestic beer operations, the Going-to-Market strategy was designed to overhaul its sales and distribution system.

This called for the full delineation of sales territories and the separation of the company’s sales and marketing functions. Product distribution is now being outsourced to third party dealers, allowing the company to focus on product selling. The completion of the program is expected to further boost the strong volumes of CCBPI.