An employee fills a display with Coca-Cola Co. soft drinks on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. at a store in Orem, Utah, USA.
George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Coca-Cola reported on Monday that quarterly demand was unchanged from the same time last year as North America and Western Europe take longer to get back from the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the volume of global unit costs returned to its 2019 level in March.
“We are encouraged by improvements in our business, especially in markets where vaccine availability is increasing and economies are opening up, and we remain confident in our outlook for the full year,” CEO James Quincey said in a statement.
The company’s stock was up less than 1% in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: 55 cents, adjusted, versus 50 cents expected
- Revenue: $ 9.02 billion vs. $ 8.6 billion expected
The beverage giant reported net income in the first quarter of $ 2.25 billion, or 52 cents a share, from $ 2.78 billion or 64 cents a share a year earlier.
Excluding items, Coca-Cola earned 55 cents a share, above the 50 cents a share expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Net sales Up 5% to $ 9.02 billion, exceeding expectations of $ 8.6 billion. Organic yields were up 6%, while unit box volume was stable from the same time a year ago. Coke said demand improved every month of the quarter, driven by markets like China where uncertainty about the virus has eased.
The company’s sparkling soft drinks segment, which also includes soft drinks of the same name, experienced volume growth of 4% in the quarter. While the North American fountain business is still under pressure, growth in India, China and Latin America offset these declines. Higher demand in China and India also helped the food, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages segment, which posted 3% volume growth.
The hydration, sports, coffee and tea segment of cola was hit the hardest, with a shrinkage volume of 11%. Coffee activity decreased by 21% due to the virus impact on Costa cafes. The hydration category, which includes Dasani and Smartwater, reported a volume decrease of 12% as fewer consumers worldwide bought single-use water bottles. The demand for cola tea products fell by 6%, while the volume of sports drinks such as Powerade fell only 1%.
The company reiterated its full-year forecast of organic sales growth in high single digit and adjusted earnings growth in a range from high single digit to low double digits.
In a separate filing, Coke announced plans for a public listing of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa. The company will sell some of its stakes in the IPO, which is expected within 18 months. The shares are listed in Amsterdam and Johannesburg.