Coca-Cola sold more soft drinks in the first quarter, despite the company having to raise its prices. The company continued to benefit from the easing of lockdown measures in large parts of the world in the first months of the year. In the last quarter of 2021, Coca-Cola also sold more than before the corona pandemic, with consumption outside the home for the first time greater than before the virus outbreak.
Coca-Cola’s revenue rose 16 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to $10.5 billion, or 9.8 billion euros. That was more than the $9.8 billion that analysts had expected. Excluding exchange rate effects and acquisitions, turnover even grew by 18 percent. Profits came in at $2.8 billion.
In addition to higher volumes due to the corona flushes, price increases also contributed to the strong quarterly performance. Higher commodity prices and labor shortages have forced Coca-Cola and other consumer companies to raise prices this year. Despite the price increases, Coca-Cola claims to have gained market share in the non-alcoholic beverage market, both domestically and internationally.
Coca-Cola already announced in March that it would no longer do business in Russia because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The discontinuation of the Russian activities will have a negative impact of 1 to 2 percent on sales, as well as a negative effect on profits, according to Coca-Cola. For the whole of 2022, the soft drink manufacturer maintains its expectation of organic sales growth of between 7 and 8 percent. The profit forecast also remains unchanged.
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