Feb 14 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

, a bottling unit of Coca-Cola, reported a 5%

rise in fourth-quarter sales on Friday, helped by strong demand

for higher-priced beverages, especially in the Australia,

Pacific and Southeast Asia markets.

The UK-based company, which bottles Coca-Cola's beverages

including Coca-Cola, Sprite and Monster in Western Europe and

Australia, also said it would buy back shares worth 1 billion

euros ($1.05 billion) over the next 12 months.

The company, which supplies beverages to fast-food chains

including McDonald's and KFC ( YUM )-owner Yum Brands ( YUM ),

also saw a boost from demand for value combo meals, which

typically include a beverage.

Volumes rose 1.7% in Australia, Pacific and Southeast Asia

regions, but declined 2.6% in Europe as it removed Capri Sun

products from its range due to distribution agreements ending.

Overall, the company's adjusted comparable volumes fell 1.1%

in the fourth quarter, but was offset by higher prices of its

beverages, it said.

The Coca-Cola Company ( KO ) on Tuesday had forecast annual sales

growth at the upper end of its long-term target after a surprise

quarterly revenue rise.

To attract new customers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has

been investing to roll out new product variants, including

Coca-Cola Lime on both the regular and zero variants, banking on

the popularity of flavored colas.

For the quarter ended December 31, the company's adjusted

comparable revenue rose 5% to 5.25 billion euros.

The company sees annual adjusted comparable operating profit

to grow about 7%, compared to an 8% growth in 2024

It also forecast annual adjusted comparable revenue growth

of about 4%, compared to a 3.5% rise in the past year.

($1 = 0.9542 euros)