Coca-Cola Amatil says its earnings will be impacted by $40 million of investments aimed at driving growth in its Australian drinks business.
The drinks distributor had planned to save $20 million in costs in both 2019 and 2020 and invest them back into the business in each year they were made.
But with earnings and revenue in its Australian beverages division still under pressure, it will fast track that spending to 2018, lowering prices, increasing marketing and adding new drink machines and technology.
"Our Accelerated Australian Growth Plan brings forward around $40 million in reinvestment of cost savings to 2018, to deliver increases in marketing, execution, cold drink equipment, digital technology and price," managing director Alison Watkins said in a statement ahead of an investor briefing in Jakarta.
Underlying earnings in Coca-Cola's Australian beverages division, which includes the Coca-Cola, Mount Franklin and Monster Energy brands, dropped 13 per cent in the first half of 2017.
Ms Watkins said the company has since seen improvements after the launch of new products, including Coca-Cola No Sugar and Coca-Cola Plus Coffee.
But the company needs to move faster to rebalance its portfolio, she said, which is currently heavily weighted toward carbonated drinks and has much smaller market share in water, dairy and fruit juice.
Earnings in the next two to three years will be impacted by the new investment plans, and the impact of a new container deposit scheme in NSW remains uncertain, Ms Watkins said.
Coca-Cola Amatil still expects to achieve an underlying net profit in line with the $418 million underlying net profit made in 2016, Ms Watkins said.
