4 days Ago
Cans of Coca-Cola at a supermarket in Perros-Guirec, France, on April 18. Benoit Tessier/Reuters Coca-Cola KO-N on Tuesday reported better-than-expected revenue and profit for the first quarter, as the beverage giant benefits from price hikes and strong demand for its sodas, juices and milk offering Fairlife. The Sprite and Fanta maker maintained its full-year organic revenue and comparable profit forecasts, unlike PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble PG-N that lowered their annual expectations as the global trade war triggered by steep U.
S. tariffs threatened to push up costs for American companies. “(Coca-Cola’s) operations are primarily local, however, it is subject to global trade dynamics which may impact certain components of the company’s cost structure across its markets,” it said in a statement.
“At this time, the company expects the impact to be manageable.” Shares of Coca-Cola rose 1 per cent in premarket trading. Rival PepsiCo PEP-Q last week called out subdued consumer spending, but demand for Coca-Cola’s slightly pricey products has so far remained stable, helping boost sales growth despite price hikes in highly inflationary markets such as Argentina and Latin America.
Its overall average selling prices rose 5 per cent in the first quarter, while unit case volumes increased 2 per cent. Quarterly revenue fell marginally to $11.22-billion.
Analysts on an average expected a 0.84 per cent fall to $11.14-billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 73 cents per share, compared with estimates of 71 cents..
