Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) on Monday reported that quarterly demand was unchanged from a year earlier as North America and Western Europe take longer to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic.
However, global unit case volume in March returned to 2019 levels.
"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 full year guidance," CEO James Quincey said.
The beverage giant reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $2.25 billion, or 52 cents per share, down from $2.78 billion, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Coke earned 55 cents per share, topping the 50 cents per share expected by analysts.
Net sales rose 5% to $9.02 billion, beating expectations of $8.6 billion. Organic revenues grew 6%, while unit case volume was flat from a year earlier. Coke said demand improved every month of the quarter, driven by markets like China where uncertainty tied to the virus has fallen.
The company’s sparkling soft drinks segment, which includes its namesake soda, saw 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 those declines. Higher demand in China and India also helped its nutrition, juice, dairy and plant-based beverage segment, which posted 3% volume growth.
Coke’s hydration, sports, coffee and tea segment was the hardest hit, with its volume shrinking 11%. The coffee business declined 21% due to the virus impact on Costa cafes.
KO shares dipped four cents to $53.71
