Coca-Cola logs $102 million gain from refranchising India bottling operations in 2025

The Coca-Cola Company reported a gain of $102 million in 2025 from refranchising its bottling operations in select territories in India, according to its latest earnings release.

This follows a substantially higher gain of $303 million recorded in 2024 from similar refranchising transactions in the country, underscoring the pace at which Coca-Cola has been paring its direct exposure to the bottling business in India.

The company said unit case volume for its bottling operations declined 6% during the

quarter, largely due to a slowdown in India and the impact of refranchising. Globally, Coca-Cola’s unit case volume grew 1% for the quarter and remained flat for the full year.

The refranchising exercise has been executed through Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), Coca-Cola’s bottling arm in India. In March 2025, HCCB sold its bottling operations in north Gujarat to Kandhari Global Beverages Group. Earlier, in December 2024, Coca-Cola sold a 40% stake in HCCB’s parent entity, Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings, to the Jubilant Bhartia Group.

In January 2024, HCCB refranchised bottling operations in Rajasthan to Kandhari Global Beverages, Bihar to SLMG Beverages, and the Northeast India region along with parts of West Bengal to Moon Beverages.

Under these arrangements, the Rajasthan market is now owned and operated by Kandhari Global Beverages, which already has a presence across Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. SLMG Beverages, which manages operations in Uttarakhand, has taken over the Bihar market along with parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Moon Beverages will own and operate the Northeast India market and select areas in West Bengal, expanding its footprint beyond parts of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Following these transactions, Coca-Cola now controls about 40% of its bottling operations in India through HCCB, which operates 15 manufacturing plants across the country.

Despite the India-led decline in its bottling volumes, the beverage major maintained its outlook, stating it expects to deliver organic revenue (non-GAAP) growth of 4% to 5% for the current period, lower than the 5% to 6% outlook provided for financial year 2025.

For the quarter, Coca-Cola’s net revenues rose 5% to $12.5 billion, while organic revenues (non-GAAP) grew 6%. Revenue performance included a 6% increase in price/mix, while concentrate sales remained flat.