Coca-Cola Q1 earnings meet estimates; company raises 2024 revenue outlook
Upstox
3 min read • Updated: May 1, 2024, 1:21 PM
Summary
The Coca-Cola Company’s net revenue grew 3% to $11.3 billion, and organic revenue (non-GAAP) grew 11% in Q1. For the full year 2024, Coca-Cola is now expecting organic revenue growth of 8-9%, up from its prior projections of 6-7%.
The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage maker, on Tuesday, April 30, announced better-than-expected growth in terms of volume, revenue and profit for the first quarter ended March 2024. The company follows the January-December calendar year.
Net revenue grew 3% to $11.3 billion, and organic revenue (non-GAAP) grew 11% in Q1. Non-GAAP numbers are comparable numbers that usually exclude irregular expenses such as those related to acquisitions, restructuring, or one-time balance sheet adjustments.
Earnings per share EPS grew 3% to $0.74, while comparable EPS (non-GAAP) grew 7% to $0.72 during the March quarter.
Coca-Cola said that unit case volume grew 1% in the March quarter. Developed markets were even, while developing and emerging markets grew low single digits, driven mainly by growth in Brazil, Philippines and Nigeria.
For the full year 2024, Coca-Cola is now expecting organic revenue growth of 8-9%, up from its prior projections of 6-7%.
The company does not report India-specific numbers, but it said that unit case volume declined 2% in the Asia Pacific region during Q1. It mentioned that growth in trademark Coca-Cola and juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverages was more than offset by a decline in water, sports, coffee and tea.
Also, growth in the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Indonesia was more than offset by a decline in China, Coca-Cola added.
Talking about India in a post-earnings call, James Quincey, the Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, said, “The India market performed atypically at the start of the year with a soft January and February, but started picking up in March and April.”
“We have realised that India will not follow a straight line of metronomic growth. We are bullish on the long-term growth in India and see a strong year ahead for the country,” he added.
The Coca-Cola Company also informed that it has accumulated $293 million (or around ₹2,420 crore) from the refranchising exercise it undertook in India earlier this year.
“During the three months ended March 29, 2024, the company recorded net gains of $599 million and $293 million related to the refranchising of our bottling operations in the Philippines and in certain territories in India, respectively,” the company said in its post-earnings statement.
To recall, in January and February this year, The Coca-Cola Company’s India bottling arm Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd (HCCB) had said that it would sell the bottling operations in Rajasthan, Bihar, the north-east, and select areas in West Bengal to existing independent local bottlers.