The drinks firm used its brand power to boost earnings in its biggest market, Australia, maintaining prices to its supermarket customers even as its main rival, Cadbury, was heavily discounting.
There was good news too from its smallest market, Indonesia, where its product appeal to the growing middle class appeared to overcome the reduced discretionary income following price increase in staples there.
The $171.9 million first half net profit for the period to June 30, was up 22 per cent on its $140.9 million achieved in 2007.
On a continuing operations basis, the interim net profit of $171.9 million was 10.4 per cent better than last year's $155.7 million.
That result beat both its May guidance of high single-digit growth for its underlying interim and full year profit as well as market forecasts.
Analysts were quick to praise the result and investors pushed CCA stock more than five per cent, or 40 cents, higher to $8.34.
Managing director Terry Davis confirmed the outlook of high single-digit earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) growth for the second half.
"One would hope that falling fuel prices, the July tax cuts, (the) potential of lower interest rates should positively impact on consumer sentiment and flow through to increased demand in the second half," Davis told a briefing on Wednesday.
The drinks maker's third quarter is seasonally its smallest, but so far earnings in current quarter were ahead of last year, Davis said.
He warned the economic slowdown in New Zealand could be a drag on earnings there.
By contrast, profits in Indonesia were weighted to the second half.
"At this point our current internal forecasts continue to indicate somewhere around seven per cent EBIT growth for the second half," he said.
CCA faced a number of headwinds over the half: poor weather in NSW and Queensland, aggressive discounting from Cadbury and the depreciation of the Indonesian rupiah which effectively resulted in less revenue per unit sold.
Despite those conditions, the drinks maker managed to improve its margins by 1.7 basis points to 16.6 per cent in the half.
"CCA can't be insulated from market conditions but when trading does get tougher and costs pressures are greater our business can still deliver," he said.
Davis said the company's success depended on its ability to modify product price, volume and mix to recover cost of goods increases.
"When trading conditions get tougher, as they have in the first half of the year, we're well positioned to adapt out strategy," Davis said.
The drinks maker expects the full year increase in cost of goods sold per unit case to be just over three per cent on a constant currency basis.
The manufacturer survived the price war locally - it lost volume over the half but held the line on prices with the result that it delivered 10 per cent EBIT growth for the half.
By the second quarter volumes had recovered locally, growing by two per cent.
Citigroup analysts Andy Bowley and Craig Woolford said the few negatives in Wednesday's result were overshadowed by the manufacturer's strong operational performance.
In a note to clients soon after Wednesday's result, they put a "buy" on the stock and commented on the seven per cent EBIT growth target.
"We believe this is conservative but is consistent with management's approach historically and allows positive earnings momentum over the remainder of fiscal 2008."
The drinks maker will pay an interim dividend, fully franked, of 17 cents per share, representing an increase of 9.7 per cent over last year's interim payout of 15.5 cents.
