Coca-Cola HBC said on Thursday that net sales revenue in the third quarter grew by 5%, driven by a 3.4% volume growth across a broad range of countries.

The Coca-Cola anchor bottler in 28 mostly European countries and Nigeria said that the overall volume increase is a testament to the strength of its execution across its markets.

Net sales in the third quarter hit €1.8bn and €5.04bn in the nine months to the end of September, a 5.4% increase from the previous year.

The company said that it saw a 2.2% volume increase in established markets in the third quarter, helped by a good tourist season and exceptionally warm summer weather in Southern Europe, while a 9.1% sales growth in developing markets was buoyed by a strong volume, positive price and category mix and a strengthening of currencies in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. In emerging markets, sales rose 5.6%, helped by a 3.5% volume increases in Eastern, Central Europe and Russia, which offset decline in Nigeria.

The soft drinks giant noted that volumes declined by the mid-single digits in Nigeria due to price increases it took in excess of 30% in the last 12 months. The company said that PET packages of 35cl and 60cl have helped to preserve further volume decline.

Commenting on the results, the Acting CEO and Group CFO of Coca-Cola HBC, Michalis Imellos said: “We are very pleased with the strong revenue delivery in the quarter, well balanced between broad-based volume growth and substantial price/mix improvement. We go into the final quarter encouraged by our progress and confident in delivering on our expectations for the full year.”

The CEO of Coca-Cola HBC Dimitris Lois passed away early in October after a brief illness. In a released statement, the company said that its Board of Directors has a succession plan for the CEO position and there is a thorough process underway. Further announcements will be made in due course.