Boston, MA 10/17/2013 (wallstreetpr) – The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) reported a drop in its revenue in the third quarter (Q3.13). It was down from $12.34 billion in a comparable quarter a year earlier, to $12.03 billion in the just reported quarter.
The new revenue was also out of tune with the analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.05 billion. At $12.03 billion in revenue for the most recent quarterly earnings, KO noted percentile decline of 3%.
But when the company release its net income for the Q3.13, it was clear there was a surprise for the investors and market observers. The world’s largest beverage maker reported a percentile increase of 6% on its net income which now stands at $2.45 billion. This is up from $2.31 billion in a comparable period a year ago. The new income now reflects a jump from $0.50 per share to $0.54 per share.
However, this includes earnings from the so-called one-time items which the company typically offers on seasons. It thus means that excluding such items, KO’s new net income indicates $0.53 per share earning. Amazingly this is inline with Thomson Reuters’ expectations.
By recording net income growth, the Sprite maker said it was on the right track to achieve its goal of doubling its sales and of its bottlers by fall of 2020. KO now seeks to tighten its grip in higher incomes by investing more in its brands and by acquisitions. This is not the plot hatched by the company’s CEO Muhtar Kent.
So far, KO has realized 2% in its global growth and the company intends to push it higher to bolster its revenue earnings. The greatest headache for the company now is the weaker currencies in the emerging markets; a factor that contributed to the drop in revenue for the Q3.13. The company’s focus is now on revamping operations in countries such as Philippines and Brazil, which among the troubled emerging markets.
Even as the emerging markets disappointed the Coke maker, the increasingly decline soda market in the U.S., showed some surprise increase which is a good sign for the company as it means that a strong revenue rebound is in the offing.
