- Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) smashes consensus expectations with organic sales growth of 6.0% in Q1 vs. 0.0% expected. Organic sales were up 18.0% in the Asia Pacific against the soft pandemic comparable and were 4.0% higher in North America. The botting business saw organic sales growth of 17.0% during the quarter. The company lost value share in total nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages in Q1 as an underlying share gain in both at-home and away-from-home channels was more than offset by negative channel mix due to continued pressure in away-from-home channels, where the company has a strong share position.
- Gross margin was 60.6% of sales during the quarter vs. 60.1% consensus and operating margin was 31.0% vs. 30.6% consensus.
- Coca-Cola says that it plans to list Coca-Cola Beverages Africa as a publicly traded bottler and intends to sell a portion of its holdings in CCBA via an initial public offering. The beverage giants says the action demonstrates a commitment by the company for CCBA to remain Africa-focused and South Africa-headquartered.
- Shares of Coca-Cola are up 0.69% premarket to $54.05 after the earnings topper.