Coca-Cola Co. said Wednesday that profit jumped 20% in its
second quarter as the beverage giant logged volume growth.
Shares of Coke, flat over the past year, gained 0.9% to $41.55
in premarket trading as results topped expectations.
The maker of Sprite soda and Dasani water, along with its
namesake cola, derives most of its profit from abroad, making it
vulnerable to foreign-exchange swings when it translates results
back into U.S. dollars.
Coke has forecast that weakening foreign currencies would
represent headwinds of 6 percentage points on revenue and 10
percentage points on operating income for the year. It also has
said that it expects to fall short of its long-term growth targets
for a third straight year.
Meanwhile, the company continues to struggle with tepid volume
growth as consumers scale back on soda. Coke has worked to offset
the decline by raising prices, especially in the U.S., where the
company also is pushing smaller packages like 7.5-ounce "mini
cans'" that cost consumers more on a per-ounce basis.
In the latest quarter, Coke said world-wide soda volumes grew
1%, while noncarbonated beverage volumes grew 5%.
Overall, for the period ended July 3, the company posted
earnings of $3.11 billion, or 71 cents a share, up from $2.6
billion, or 58 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding special
items, per-share earnings were 63 cents.
Revenue fell 3.3% to $12.2 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected 60 cents a
share in earnings and $12.1 billion in revenue.
Organic revenue, which strips out foreign currency impacts, grew
4%.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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