Multon Partners LLC, the Russian affiliate of the global beverage giant Coca-Cola HBC Holdings B.V., saw its profits quadruple in 2023 to RUB10.25bn ($111mn), up from RUB2.3bn posted in 2022. The problem is that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the international soft drinks giant promised to pull out of the Russian market, but has failed to do so. The 150% increase in profits from the previous year is partly a low base effect caused by the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, when Coca-Cola announced in March 2022 it was pulling out of Russia. PepsiCo, a key competitor, m…