Coca-Cola Co. topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly sales on Wednesday, driven by the success of new versions of Diet Coke and demand for its Zero Sugar brand.
Organic revenue, or sales from its core beverage business, rose 5% in the quarter, with Diet Coke, Coke Zero and sparkling water contributing the most.
The company had earlier this year launched new flavours of its popular Diet Coke brand in slimmer packaging, responding to consumer demand for low- and no-sugar sodas.
Rising Volumes
Volumes, a key indicator of demand, grew 2% in the quarter on strong performance of its trademark Coca-Cola brand, and Fuze Tea. Net income attributable to the company's shareholders rose to $2.32 billion, or 54 cents per share, in the second quarter ended 29 June, from $1.37 billion, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, Coca-Cola said that it earned 61 cents per share, beating analysts' average estimate by a cent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue fell by 8%, to $8.93 billion, hurt by the divestiture of its low-margin bottling operations. Analysts had estimated sales of $8.54 billion.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
