The Coca-Cola Company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly sales on Tuesday as higher demand in Brazil, China and India offset a decline in North America.
Lower costs and higher volume helped increase profit, which was in line with analysts’ estimates. The company gained market share in the carbonated and noncarbonated beverage
The results continued a trend for the company, which sells Diet Coke, Sprite and Dasani water among other brands. The company has relied on strength overseas to counter a weak North American market that has experienced high unemployment and low consumer confidence.
“This continues to be a story about emerging-market growth,” an analyst at Morningstar, Phil Gorham, said. He pointed to the strong numbers in China and India, particularly when comparing them against “a pretty strong quarter in ’08.”
Still, the company gave a tepid outlook.
“With consumers still challenged by a mixed global recovery, there again may be bumps along the way, with quarter-to-quarter volatility still possible as we move through 2010,” the chief executive, Muhtar Kent, said.
Coca-Cola said net income attributable to shareholders rose to $1.54 billion, or 66 cents a share, from $995 million, or 43 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts’ average forecast was 66 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Net operating revenue rose 5 percent, to $7.51 billion, topping analysts’ average forecast of $7.22 billion.
Sales by volume — an important measure for investors — rose 5 percent, outpacing gains of 2 percent in the third quarter, 4 percent in the second quarter and 2 percent in the first quarter.
Several analysts were expecting volume to grow about 2 percent.
Fourth-quarter sales volume rose 11 percent in the Pacific region, driven by a 29 percent increase in China, where Coke said it would continue to focus on generating double-digit annual growth rates.
Sales volume rose 7 percent in Latin America, 1 percent in Europe and 5 percent in the company’s Eurasia and Africa division.
Volume fell 1 percent in the North American market because of continued pressure on consumer spending and weak traffic to restaurants. Still, that decline was smaller than the 4 percent drop in the previous quarter.
Source : http://www.nytimes.com/
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