KO Coca Cola Company

By Dave Sebastian

Coca-Cola Co. reported lower revenue for the latest quarter, reflecting growing sales for the first two months of the year before the Covid-19 pandemic escalated and resulted in reduced travel, restaurant closures and sports cancellations outside of China.

The beverage giant Tuesday posted first-quarter sales of $8.6 billion, down 1% the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet were targeting sales of $8.3 billion.

The Atlanta-based company said organic revenue, which excludes the effect of currency swings, acquisition and divestitures, was flat. For the quarter, Coca-Cola reported earnings of $2.76 billion, or 64 cents a share, compared with $1.68 billion, or 39 cents a share, in the comparable quarter last year.

Adjusted earnings were 51 cents a share, ahead of the 44 cents analysts had expected.

Unit-case volume, or the number of 24 8-ounce servings of finished beverage sold, fell 1% for the quarter as declines in Asia Pacific due to coronavirus offset growth in North America, the company said.

Unit-case volume for its sparkling soft drinks, which include its namesake soda drink, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, fell 2% for the quarter, led by a decline in Asia Pacific, particularly China. Unit-case volume for juice, dairy and plant-based beverages fell 6% due to a decline in Minute Maid Pulpy in China. Unit-case volume for water and sports drinks was up 2%, while that of tea and coffee fell 6%.

In North America, unit-case volume rose 3%. Coca-Cola's Asia-Pacific segment's unit-case volume fell 7%.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 21, 2020 06:38 ET (10:38 GMT)

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