Diet sodas help sales surge at Coca-Cola
July 25, 2018
Coca-Cola on Wednesday beat analysts' expectations with its second-quarter earnings and revenue after the Atlanta-based drinks firm gave its low-sugar sodas a facelift.
Revenue came in at $8.93 billion (€7.63 billion) against a forecast of $8.54 billion, although it was lower than the $9.7 billion achieved in the same quarter last year.
The soda maker reported net income of $2.32 billion, up 70 percent from a year ago.
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Coca-Cola partly credited double-digit growth in its Zero Sugar brand, previously known as Coke Zero, for the revenue uptick.
Image change helped
Both the Diet Coke and Zero Sugar brands have undergone image changes in recent months, and sales were boosted after the firm made it clearer that the drinks don't contain any sugar.
Diet Coke — which has been struggling for years — was rebranded with slimmer, taller cans and flavors. In many markets, it is known as Coke Light.
Meanwhile, Coke's water and sports drinks, which includes brands like Powerade, grew 4 percent.
The firm also got a boost from a $42 million gain related to discontinued operations.
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Coke and rival PepsiCo are trying to diversify their drink offerings to be more aligned with changing tastes. But the companies are also still trying to boost sales of their legacy brands.
Coca-Cola has also been pushing into sparking, flavored waters with its Dasani brand, following the surging popularity of drinks like La Croix in the US.
PepsiCo, which has made similar moves, said earlier this month its sales volume declined in North America for the second quarter.
mm/tr (AP, Reuters)