If you'd invested in: Coca-Cola HBC and Kingfisher

If only...

Coca-Cola HBC (LSE: CCH) is one of the bottlers in the Coca-Cola system, operating plants in Europe, Africa and Asia. The FTSE 100 firm produces, sells and distributes a wide range of non-alcoholic beverages, including sparkling drinks, juice, water, tea and coffee. For the six months to 30 June, sales revenue grew 5.6% to £2.9bn compared with the same period a year earlier, while operating profit was up 26.8% to £262.9m.

Be glad you didn't

Kingfisher (LSE: KGF) is a pan-European home improvement chain. The group reported a dip in sales in the second quarter as a result of persistent weakness in its French market and disruption to its restructuring plans. The company, which owns chains such as B&Q and France's Castorama, saw group-wide like-for-like sales fall by 1.9% year-on-year to £3.14bn in the three months to June.

Try 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today

Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.

Start your trial

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Alice grew up in Stockholm and studied at the University of the Arts London, where she gained a first-class BA in Journalism. She has written for several publications in Stockholm and London, and joined MoneyWeek in 2017.

Alice is now Consumer Editor at The Sun and covers everything from energy bills to Social Security.