Coca-Cola Sales Boosted by Soda Gains, Coffee Push -- Update
July 23 2019 - 9:18AM
Dow Jones News
By Charlie McGee and Allison Prang
Coca-Cola Co.'s quarterly profit and sales rose, boosted by
higher demand for its namesake soft drinks and the introduction of
coffee, energy drinks and other products.
Organic revenue, which excludes currency swings, acquisitions
and divestitures, increased 6%, with gains in each of Coke's four
major geographies.
Sagging demand for sugary drinks has driven Coke's push to roll
out Coke Zero Sugar, new flavors and diversify its offerings in
recent years.
The product launches have helped revive its core soda business,
where volumes rose 4% in the quarter. Volumes of Coke Zero Sugar, a
reformulated diet soda, rose more than 10% globally, the company
said Tuesday.
John Murphy, Coke's chief financial officer, said Orange Vanilla
Coca-Cola, rolled out earlier this year as the first new flavor in
a decade, performed strongly in the U.S., while Coca-Cola Plus
Coffee helped sales in Europe.
Mr. Murphy said the company's traditional soda still sells well
in lower per capita markets. He said growth in India was strong,
but in Mexico it has been "a little slower than we would have
liked."
The company now expects organic revenue to rise by 5% in 2019.
It had previously expected it to increase 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%.
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. Adjusted
earnings were 63 cents a share. The FactSet consensus for adjusted
earnings was 61 cents a share.
Coke has expanded into the coffee business, buying 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.
Shares of Coca-Cola gained about 3% in premarket trading.
Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 23, 2019 09:03 ET (13:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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