Bottler Coca-Cola HBC beats revenue estimate on strong demand

(Reuters) - Bottler Coca-Cola HBC beat market forecast for first-quarter revenue on Tuesday, and reiterated that its operating profit will expand further this year, supported by strong demand for its coffee, energy and sparkling drinks.

The company has continued to witness strong sales even as prices were hiked over the past year to keep up with high costs, while regions such as Egypt and Nigeria were impacted by devaluation of the naira and Egyptian pound.

The Switzerland-based company, in which U.S. beverage giant Coca-Cola owns more than 23%, reported a 12.6% rise in organic net sales revenue for the three months ended March 29 to 2.23 billion euros ($2.39 billion).

Analysts in a company-compiled consensus had expected an organic revenue growth of 9.5% in the reported quarter.

"Although we are mindful of the broader macroeconomic backdrop, we are confident in delivering our financial guidance in the year ahead and on making further progress against our medium-term growth targets," CEO Zoran Bogdanovic said in a statement.

Coca-Cola HBC maintained its outlook for annual organic operating profit to grow in the range of 3% to 9%, as it ramps up its investments and brand launches.

Organic revenue per case for the quarter was up 10.6%.

($1 = 0.9342 euros)

(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)