One of the popular and renowned soft drink brands Coca Cola Corporation estimates quarterly results as sales in the Asian region picked up following the reopening of stores and restaurants.
Unfortunately, the surge in covid cases particularly in India indicates a tough path due to growing cases in some of the markets.
Meanwhile, the beverage maker commented- volumes, a key demand indicator, returned to 2019 levels in March as accelerated vaccinations graveled the way for the reopening of stores or economies.
On the other hand, the shares of the Atlanta-based company rose about 1% in morning trading. Moreover, CEO James Quincey said to the media persons- “Whilst we’ve got back above the line of flotation in March, there’s no guarantee there won’t be some extra degree of lockdowns in May or September or December that then puts pressure back on the business”.
Previously, Latin America and Africa have faced a fewer vaccine distribution, and India, one of the best performing regions, which contributes a huge contribution to the sales is experiencing a surge in covid cases. It has also put in place localized lockdowns. This scenario is worrying the global beverage maker Coca-Cola, as it would affect its operation.
The CEO added- “ The reality is that there are more cases now than there were a while ago. We still feel very confident… but there’s a lot of managing left to do”.
Moving forward with the figures, the net revenue rose about 5% to $9.02 billion for the quarter ended April 2, it was recorded as the first rise after four quarters of decline. It also beat the average analyst estimate of $8.63 billion, stated by IBES data from Refinitive.
For the right survival in the market and continued business operations, the beverage maker is now exploring a place in more pantries via single-serve multipacks, smaller packaging, refills, and returnable glass bottles.
On this, Hargreaves Lansdow William Ryder said- “There’s been a lot of underlying progress and Coke’s brand is definitely strong enough to carry the group to a recovery”.
Lastly, it also independently announced the upcoming plans to list its African bottling operations, CCBA (Coca-Cola Beverages Africa) as a publicly traded firm. Talking about its IPO, it will trade a division of its shares (66.5%) in CCBA soon.
