Coca-Cola Co chief executive officer Muhtar Kent can exhale now.
The world’s largest soda maker yesterday showed signs of a rebound in the first three months of the year, easing the concerns that arose when the company unsettled investors with surprisingly sluggish global sales in the fourth quarter. Earnings met estimates, sales volume in North America halted its slide, and sales gains were strong in markets such as China.
After the fourth-quarter report, Kent promised improvement and implemented a cost-cutting programme that’s already showing some progress. Global sales volume rose 2%, and an emphasis on new package sizes helped boost pricing by 2%.
Add it all together and profit excluding some items was 44 cents a share in the three months ended March 28, Atlanta-based Coca-Cola said yesterday in a statement. That matched the average of 18 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Net income fell 7.5% $1.62bn, or 36 cents a share, from $1.75bn, or 39 cents, a year earlier, Bloomberg reported.
