KO Coca Cola Company

By Charlie McGee and Allison Prang 

Coca-Cola Co. said quarterly sales rose, as the beverage giant rolled out coffee, energy drinks and other products that move beyond its namesake soft drinks.

Retail sales increased 6% in the second quarter, while the company's sales volume rose 3%.

Sagging demand for sugary drinks has driven Coke's push to diversify its offerings in recent years.

The company now expects organic revenue, which excludes currency swings, acquisitions and divestitures, to increase by 5% in 2019, instead of by about 4%. Coca-Cola also raised its guidance for operating income on a currency neutral basis, and now expects it to increase between 11% and 12%, instead of between 10% and 11%.

Organic revenue in the second quarter increased 6%. Coca-Cola's $10 billion in sales during the second quarter was slightly higher than expectations of $9.9 billion from a FactSet analyst consensus.

Coca-Cola posted per-share earnings of 61 cents, up from 54 cents a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 63 cents a share. The FactSet consensus was 61 cents a share.

Coke has expanded into the coffee business, buying a British coffee-shop chain Costa that operates thousands of cafes and launching a coffee-infused version of its flagship soda in some Asian markets.

It has also tried to revive sales in its home market with new soda flavors, such as Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 23, 2019 07:57 ET (11:57 GMT)

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