Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Q2 2025 slides: Business income improves amid vending impairment

Introduction & Market Context

Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings Inc. (CCBJH) presented its second quarter 2025 earnings on August 1, revealing improved business performance despite volume challenges and a significant non-cash impairment charge related to its vending machine business. The company’s stock closed at ¥2,518.5, down 0.57% on the day, according to available market data.

The presentation highlighted both the company’s financial resilience in the first half of 2025 and introduced an ambitious new strategic plan called "Vision 2030," which aims to substantially increase business income and shareholder returns by the end of the decade.

Quarterly Performance Highlights

CCBJH reported first-half revenue of ¥417,942 million, representing a 1.6% year-over-year increase despite a 1% decline in sales volume. More significantly, the company achieved a positive business income of ¥1,535 million, a ¥4,326 million improvement from the ¥2,791 million loss recorded in the same period of 2024.

As shown in the following comprehensive financial results table:

The company’s EBITDA showed strong growth, increasing 20.3% to ¥24,152 million. However, CCBJH reported a substantial operating loss of ¥92,170 million, primarily due to a significant non-cash impairment loss related to vending machine fixed assets. This impairment reflects the company’s strategic decision to reevaluate its vending assets for optimal future capital allocation.

The business income improvement was driven by several key factors, as illustrated in this waterfall chart:

Price and mix contributed ¥4.8 billion to the improvement, while transformation initiatives added ¥2.6 billion and reduced direct marketing expenses provided another ¥0.8 billion. These positive factors were partially offset by increased commodity and utility costs (¥1.7 billion) and other expenses.

Strategic Initiatives: Vision 2030

A major focus of the presentation was the introduction of "Vision 2030," CCBJH’s new strategic business plan that builds upon and significantly expands the targets from its previous Vision 2028 plan. The company cited positive business operations, strong determination to achieve higher ambitions, and progress toward enhanced shareholder returns as key reasons for the upward revision.

The Vision 2030 plan sets ambitious targets for 2030, including:

The plan targets business income of over ¥80 billion by 2030, which would represent approximately double the company’s historical peak. Other key goals include achieving a ROIC of over 10% (about twice the weighted average cost of capital), revenue exceeding ¥1 trillion with a CAGR of 2-3%, and volume growth with a CAGR of 0.5-1%.

CCBJH also announced what it described as the largest shareholder return program in the company’s history, including a target dividend per share of ¥140-150 by 2030 and cumulative share buybacks of ¥150 billion.

The strategy for each business segment is outlined as follows:

Forward-Looking Statements

CCBJH revised its full-year 2025 guidance, targeting business income of ¥23 billion, which is 15% higher than its initial plan and represents a 90.9% year-over-year increase. However, the company expects to report a significant net loss for the year due to the vending business impairment.

The updated guidance is detailed in the following table:

For the vending machine business, which represents a substantial portion of CCBJH’s operations with approximately 650,000 machines in operation, the company outlined a comprehensive strategy to rebuild its profit foundation:

The plan includes leveraging technology platforms and consumer insights from big data, expanding digital marketing initiatives through the Coke ON app (which has over 65 million downloads), optimizing locations, reducing fixed costs, and accelerating collaboration with partners.

Detailed Financial Analysis

Breaking down the first-half sales trends by channel, CCBJH reported mixed performance. Online sales showed strong growth of 15%, while Retail & Food Service increased by 3%. However, Vending and Convenience Store channels both declined by 5%, and Supermarkets decreased by 2%.

By beverage category, Juice (+5%), Tea (+2%), and Sparkling (+1%) showed growth, while Water (-10%), Sports (-5%), and Coffee (-2%) declined. Despite these volume challenges, the company improved wholesale revenue per case across all channels, with Vending showing the largest increase at ¥103 per case.

The Q2 (April-June) results showed similar trends to the half-year performance:

For the second quarter specifically, CCBJH reported revenue of ¥228,182 million, a 1.4% increase year-over-year, while business income surged 58.9% to ¥8,033 million. However, the quarter’s operating income showed a loss of ¥82,101 million due to the impairment charge, compared to a positive ¥4,277 million in Q2 2024.

In summary, Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan’s Q2 2025 presentation revealed a company navigating short-term challenges while setting ambitious long-term targets. The improved business income demonstrates progress in the company’s transformation efforts, while the significant impairment charge reflects a strategic reset of the vending business to position it for future profitability. With Vision 2030, CCBJH has established clear targets for substantial business growth and shareholder returns over the next five years.

Full presentation:

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.