MEXICO CITY, MEXICO--(Marketwired - Feb 23, 2016) - Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: KOFL) (NYSE: KOF) ("Coca-Cola FEMSA" or the "Company"), the largest franchise bottler in the world, announces results for the fourth quarter of 2015:

  • Comparable revenues grew 10.2% for the fourth quarter of 2015.

  • Comparable operating income grew 9.2% for the fourth quarter of 2015.

  • Comparable operative cash flow grew 10.7% for the fourth quarter of 2015 with a margin expansion of 10 basis points.

  • Comparable earnings per share grew 6.0%, reaching Ps. 1.45 in the fourth quarter of 2015.

In an effort to provide our readers with a more useful representation of our company's underlying financial and operating performance, we are including the term "Comparable." This means, with respect to a year-over-year comparison, the change in a given measure excluding the effects of (1) mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, (2) translation effects resulting from exchange rate movements and (3) the results of hyperinflationary economies in both periods. Currently, the only operation that qualifies as a hyperinflationary economy is Venezuela. In preparing this measure, management has used its best judgment, estimates and assumptions in order to maintain comparability.

           
 Fourth Quarter    Full Year Results  
 as Reported    Comparable    as Reported    Comparable  
  2015 D%     2015 D%(5)     2015 D%     2015 D%(5)  
                               
Total revenues 40,742 3.0 %   38,433 10.2 %   152,360 3.4 %   143,462 8.6 %
Gross profit 19,315 4.4 %   18,265 11.7 %   72,031 5.3 %   67,663 10.3 %
Operating income 6,649 4.3 %   6,151 9.2 %   22,645 9.2 %   21,245 13.5 %
Net income attributable to equity holders of the company 3,121 1.5 %   3,015 6.0 %   10,235 (2.9 %)   9,511 (2.1 %)
Earnings per share(1) 1.51       1.45       4.94       4.59    
Operative cash flow(2) 8,820 8.9 %   8,147 10.7 %   31,233 10.0 %   29,060 10.2 %
 
Expressed in millions of Mexican pesos.
(1) Quarterly & FY earnings / outstanding shares as of the end of period. Outstanding shares as of 4Q'15 and FY were 2,072.9 million.
(2) Operative cash flow = operating income + depreciation + amortization & other operative non-cash charges.
 

Message from the Chief Executive Officer

"We close 2015 proud of our operations' achievements in a challenging year. On a comparable basis, we delivered balanced high single-digit revenue and double-digit operating income growth on top of a margin expansion. Importantly, building on our consumers' preference for our diversified portfolio of beverage alternatives, transactions continued to outperform volumes in most of our operations -- with still beverages accounting for 43% of our incremental transactions for the year.

"Amid Mexico's recovering consumer landscape and our system's daily efforts to present the country's consumer with increased beverage choices, we regained our track record of transaction growth -- highlighted by a recovery in sparkling beverage transactions, coupled with a 7% increase in non-carbonated beverages. In Central America, our operations built on our 7% comparable growth in 2014 to generate increased transactions during 2015. We successfully navigated Brazil's complex macroeconomic and consumer environment -- achieving 20 consecutive months of market share gains in the sparkling beverage category. In Colombia, we accomplished close to double-digit transaction growth for the third consecutive year and expanded our share of key beverage categories. We built on strong transaction and pricing growth to expand our margins in Argentina, while delivering market share gains across all of our beverage categories. Despite an exceptionally complex operating environment, our Venezuelan team generated greater market share across the sparkling beverage category, along with improved profitability. Moreover, our Philippine operations accelerated transaction growth in our core sparkling beverages, simultaneously achieving a more sustainable improvement in our profitability.

"We enter 2016 with a renewed focus on reinforcing our operating discipline and continually improving our execution standards, commercial practices, and business models to better serve our clients and consumers. We will further concentrate on strengthening our financial position, maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation, and delivering sustainable, profitable growth for our shareholders," said John Santa Maria Otazua, Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Conference call information

Our fourth quarter 2015 conference call will be held on February 23, 2016, at 11:00 A.M. Eastern Time (10:00 A.M. Mexico City Time). To participate in the conference call, please dial: Domestic U.S.: 888-438-5535 or International: 719-325-2494. Participant code: 809671. We invite investors to listen to the live audiocast of the conference call on the Company's website, www.coca-colafemsa.com. If you are unable to participate live, the conference call audio will be available at www.coca-colafemsa.com.

Stock listing information
Mexican Stock Exchange, Ticker: KOFL | NYSE (ADR), Ticker: KOF | Ratio of KOF L to KOF = 10:1

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. produces and distributes Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Del Valle, and other trademark beverages of The Coca-Cola Company in Mexico (a substantial part of central Mexico, including Mexico City, as well as southeast and northeast Mexico), Guatemala (Guatemala City and surrounding areas), Nicaragua (nationwide), Costa Rica (nationwide), Panama (nationwide), Colombia (most of the country), Venezuela (nationwide), Brazil (greater São Paulo, Campiñas, Santos, the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, the state of Paraná, part of the state of Goias, part of the state of Rio de Janeiro and part of the state of Minas Gerais), Argentina (federal capital of Buenos Aires and surrounding areas) and Philippines (nationwide), along with bottled water, juices, teas, isotonics, beer, and other beverages in some of these territories. The Company has 63 bottling facilities and serves more than 358 million consumers through 2,800,000 retailers with more than 100,000 employees worldwide.