The company – which owns major beverage brands including
Coca-Cola, Sprite and VitaminWater – posted Q3 revenue of $10 billion, compared
with last year’s $8.7 billion figure. Meanwhile, operating income grew 26% in
the quarter.
Coca-Cola has updated its full-year guidance “to reflect
another quarter of momentum in the business” and says that it now expects to
deliver organic revenue growth of 13-14%.
Global unit case volume – a key indicator of demand – grew
6% year-over-year, benefitting from ongoing recovery in markets where
coronavirus-related uncertainty is abating. The average value of products sold
also rose 6%.
In Q3, Europe, Middle East & Africa unit case volume
grew 8%. The company’s Latin American division saw volume go up 8%, while it
went up 4% in North America, 3% in Asia Pacific and 3% in Coca-Cola’s bottling
investments segment.
Unit case volume of sparkling soft drinks grew 6% in the
quarter, driven by strong performance across all geographic operating segments.
Nutrition, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages grew 12%,
underpinned by a “solid performance” from Minute Maid Pulpy in China, Maaza in
India and Del Valle in Mexico.
Hydration, sports, coffee and tea saw unit case volume grow
6%. Coffee grew 19%, primarily driven by the ongoing reopening of Costa retail
stores in the UK.
“Our strategic transformation is enabling us to effectively
navigate a dynamic environment and emerge stronger from the pandemic,” said
James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
“While the recovery continues to be asynchronous around the
world, we are investing for growth to drive long-term value for the system.”