Sales at beverage giant Coca-Cola surged as much as 16 percent during the first quarter of the year as consumer activity at music venues, sports stadiums, and movie theatres all took a step back to normalcy. The sales boost has helped the conglomerate to offset rising input costs and their recent operational suspension in Russia.
Pulling out of Russia was a bold move, and the world’s largest beverage maker is only one of the few companies to cease Russian business after the country illegally invaded its neighbor, Ukraine. This resulted in revenue growth projections, on Monday, to remain consistent at a rate between 7 and 8 percent. Also, per-share growth held strong between 5 and 6 percent on the year.
In other metrics, the Atlanta, GA-based company posted a net income of $2.78 billion. This is the equivalent of 64 cents per share and, more importantly, topped Wall Street analyst expectations for per-share earnings by a whopping 6 cents.
Overall, Coca-Cola posted a revenue of $10.49 billion for the period. These numbers also exceeded industry analysis, which had previously been set at $9.91 billion.
Specifically, sales of Coca-Cola’s newer Zero Sugar product jumped up 14 percent, supported by a 6 percent increase in sales of its flagship, namesake beverage. In all, sales for the whole of their sparkling soft drink category grew by 7 percent.
The boost in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar are certainly in line with recent consumer buying trends. It seems that consumers are far more interested in healthier beverages, these days, as sales of nutrition beverages, juices, and also dairy and plant-based beverages are all up 12 percent, as a category. Similarly, hydration and sports beverages and also tea and coffee have seen a 10 percent bump.
Globally, unit case volume at Coca-Cola is up 8 percent, with pricing and mix up 7 percent. The company has noted that accelerated cost pressures, coupled with continued supply-chain issues have led them to consider alternative, more affordable—and perhaps accessible—ways to reach new consumers. This may include, for example, new single-serve packaging.
