Coca Cola Share Price Surge After Saying It Recorded “Strong Sales” in Nigeria

Maybe the Nigerian consumer is not tapped out after all. Or perhaps Nigerians just love their sugar high. Shares in Coca-Cola HBC AG surged after the second-largest bottler of Coke products said strong sales in Nigeria, Romania and Ukraine were more than making up for its struggles in Russia, the company’s biggest market. Coca-Cola HBC’s […]

Maybe the Nigerian consumer is not tapped out after all. Or perhaps Nigerians just love their sugar high.

Shares in Coca-Cola HBC AG surged after the second-largest bottler of Coke products said strong sales in Nigeria, Romania and Ukraine were more than making up for its struggles in Russia, the company’s biggest market.

Coca-Cola HBC’s share price has closely tracked the ruble since the start of the year, a phenomenon that’s also affected Carlsberg A/S, Russia’s largest brewer. “Russia counts for about 80 to 90 percent of our FX negative impact,” Chief Financial Officer Michalis Imellos said on a conference call.

The bottler buys concentrate from Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. and sells the products in Europe, Russia and Nigeria.

It is listed in London and Athens and has a market value of 7.5 billion euros.