Coca-Cola HBC reviews its Russian operations after the Ukraine war began

In early December 2022, Coca-Cola HBC, the Switzerland-based bottler that produces and distributes Coca-Cola drinks in dozens of countries, said it was reviewing its operations in Russia. The review followed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which pushed many Western companies to reassess their presence in the country.

The company said its Russian business had become a smaller part of the Group's overall activities. Coca-Cola HBC operates as an independent bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company, which had earlier suspended its own business in Russia, while the bottler continued to run local production and sales.

The statement mattered because Russia had long been one of the bottler's larger markets, and its future there affected investors' view of the Group's earnings, sanctions exposure and reputation. The review signalled that the company was weighing options for the Russian unit, including a possible exit, but the statement did not settle the outcome. The question of who controls the Russian business has remained central to the later story.