The Coca-Cola Company has reported 5% growth in net revenue for its first quarter, as coronavirus-related uncertainty eases in some markets.
The owner of Sprite and Smartwater posted Q1 net revenue of $9.0 billion, boosted by 5% growth in concentrate sales, while price/mix grew 1%. Meanwhile, operating income grew 14% in the quarter.
According to Coca-Cola, volume trends steadily improved each month, driven by recovery in markets where coronavirus-related uncertainty has diminished, and volumes returned to 2019 levels in March.
Overall, Coca-Cola’s unit case volume was flat in the first quarter, after declining 6% in full-year 2020.
In Q1, nutrition, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages grew 3%, while sparkling soft drinks grew 4%, with growth for both trademark Coca-Cola (4%) and sparkling flavours (2%).
Meawhile, Coca-Cola’s hydration, sports, coffee and tea category declined 11%, with coffee witnessing a 21% drop driven by coronavirus-related pressure on Costa retail stores, while hydration declined 12%.
Unit case volume declined 2% in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, primarily due to coronavirus-related pressure in away-from-home channels in Europe, while North America saw a 6% decline.
Meanwhile, unit case volume grew 9% in the Asia Pacific region, driven by strong growth in China and India. In Latin America, unit case volume was flat.
“We remain focused on emerging stronger and executing against our growth accelerators during the recovery phase. We are pleased with the progress we are making,” said James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
“We are encouraged by improvements in our business, especially in markets where vaccine availability is increasing and economies are opening up, and we remain confident in our full-year guidance.”
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