Coca-Cola forecast an upbeat annual profit

The Coca-Cola Co. forecast 2023 earnings to rise above Wall Street expectations on Tuesday after beating revenue estimates for the fourth quarter as demand for its soft drinks holds steady against expectations. multiple price hikes to cope with rising costs.

About 1% rose the shares of the company in operations prior to the opening of the session.

Coca-Cola’s near-duopoly in the global soft drink market, along with PepsiCo, has made it easy for the company to raise prices in recent quarters to offset rising freight, raw material and labor costs.

 Average sales prices increased 12% in the fourth quarter, while unit volumes per case fell 1%, according to the maker of Sprite and Fanta. Coca-Cola warned in October that inflation was increasingly affecting the purchasing power of consumers, especially in Europe, where they are turning to cheaper brands in categories such as juices and bottled water. PepsiCo opined last week that it would not increase the prices of its soft drinks and snacks any further, after multiple rounds of hikes last year. Based on IBES data from Refinitiv, Coca-Cola estimates full-year adjusted earnings per share to grow 4-5%, compared with analysts’ median estimate of 2.96% growth. The company’s fourth-quarter net income rose 7% to about $10.1 billion, beating estimates of about $10 billion, while adjusted earnings came in at 45 cents a share.

Published by Iraic.info, news and information agency.