Coca-Cola appears to have weathered the current economic climate better than its chief rival, according to its third-quarter earnings report released Wednesday.
The world’s largest beverage manufacturer reported global volume, revenue and market share growth – though the picture at home was slightly less rosy.
North American case volume and net revenues fell two percent versus the same period last year, while operating income dipped by twelve percent as concentrate sales slumped. Coke’s earnings release blamed that on the difficult American economic environment, but even at domestically, the company had a few bright spots.
Coke Zero’s volume increased by 30 percent, and the company credited its ubiquitous Olympics marketing campaign for holding its total domestic volume decline to two percent.
Morgan Stanley Analyst Bill Pecoriello said the report demonstrated that Coca-Cola could sustain “solid operating results in more challenging economic times,” and that the company’s stock is poised to outperform its peers’.
That stands in sharp contrast to PepsiCo, which yesterday reported a tough quarter, a tough outlook and a plan to cut 3,300 jobs world-wide. Their report induced UBS Analyst Kaumil Gajrawala to project that Coca-Cola would likely also suffer.
Source: BevNET.com Staff
|
