SLIDE 10 9 of 11
Our focus was in the must-win categories of cola and water. There were significant gains in both categories during the year, in particular, Coca-Cola volumes in Australia grew in the second half of 2018, driven by Coca-Cola No Sugar. This in-market success is a testament to the consumer trend toward low and no-sugar choices. It also reflects the success of our integrated marketing and execution strategies particularly around the key selling weeks. Our New Zealand & Fiji segment delivered another stand-out performance in 2018, with revenue up 6.9 per cent, underlying EBIT up 6.5 per cent on a constant currency basis, and volumes up 6.1 per
- cent. This was off the back of strong performances in both markets.
I would really like to call out the excellent result that Chris Litchfield and the team delivered in New Zealand with revenue, volume and EBIT growth despite cycling a strong 2017 result. This
- utstanding result has been recognised in the last week with the New Zealand business applauded
as one of four finalists in The Coca-Cola Company’s global bottler competition. Indonesia & Papua New Guinea delivered volume growth of 1.0 per cent and modest revenue growth of 0.9 per cent on a constant currency basis. While the numbers were positive, this was below our expectations for a growth segment. The result in Indonesia reflected soft market conditions, a twenty-year low in the rupiah, and higher commodity prices. Despite these challenges we achieved volume growth in each of the last three quarters in Indonesia, driven by our strategy to increase the number and availability of smaller packs in our portfolio of
- beverages. There was overall volume growth in sparkling, water, tea and dairy; and we improved
- ur value share in sparkling and held our ground in water and dairy.
Papua New Guinea achieved revenue growth for the year, despite flat volumes. EBIT came in below expectations as the business cycled the pre-election stimulus of 2017 and experienced some
- perational and logistics challenges throughout the year which have now largely been resolved.
Alcohol & Coffee delivered another strong result with 8.0 per cent revenue growth and 12.1 per cent underlying EBIT growth. This is the third consecutive year of strong growth in this segment with EBIT more than doubling from $25.8 million in 2014 to $55.7 million in 2018. We invested in the business to build capability and support our long-term growth initiatives and worked closely with our partners’ and our own brands to leverage opportunities across all categories. Corporate & Services delivered reduced earnings for the year due to lower earnings in the services and property divisions, and investment in Amatil X and group capabilities. SPC wasn’t included in this segment following our divestment decision, resulting in the business being treated as a discontinued operation in our result. Let me now provide a brief update in relation to the other two pillars of our Group Strategy – Grow and Strong Organisation. We are continuing to look for growth opportunities within, between and beyond our existing businesses.