Coca-Cola results exceed expectations on higher prices, stable demand

A man walks past shelves of Coca-Cola bottles and cans at a Shoprite store inside Palms shopping mall in Lagos, Nigeria November 5, 2019. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File Photo

April 25 (Reuters) – Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) beat quarterly revenue and profit expectations on Monday, helped by higher prices and a rebound in demand for its sodas at theaters and restaurants.

Consumer goods companies have raised prices in the face of soaring costs of ingredients like coffee and sugar, as well as a surge in labor and transportation expenses. But demand has been resilient as consumers coming out of pandemic curbs spend more.

Analysts and companies have warned that demand could slow as the Ukraine war and Indonesia’s ban on palm oil exports result in higher global food prices.

The company said suspension of its operations in Russia would impact its annual profit by 4 cents per share and annual net revenue by about 1% to 2%. However, it left its forecast for annual comparable earnings per share growth unchanged at 5% to 6%.

Net revenue rose 16% to $10.5 billion in the first quarter. Analysts had expected revenue of $9.83 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Net income attributable to Coca-Cola shareholders rose 24% to $2.78 billion, or 64 cents per share, in the three months ended April 1. Analysts had expected a profit of 58 cents per share.

Reporting by Uday Sampath and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

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