Coca-Cola sparkles globally but Europe flat
Coca-Cola has shown signs of a slowdown in European growth after reporting a revenue drop in its first quarter.
European net revenue fell 3% to $1.2bn (£727m) in the three months to 1 April despite volume increasing by 1% in the same period. The company blamed unfavourable exchange rate comparisons and higher costs in some countries.
Coca-Cola Zero grew 13% in volume in the quarter, while the master Coca-Cola brand’s volume increased by just 1% in the region.
Globally, net revenue jumped 40% to $10.5bn (£6.36bn) in the first quarter, driven by worldwide volume growth of 6% and last year’s acquisition of Coca-Cola Enterprises’ North American bottling operations. Like for like profit increased 32% to $6.6bn (£4bn).
The company was bolstered by strong sales from emerging markets in Eurasia, Africa and Latin America, which all marked net revenue and volume growth increases in the first quarter.
The soft drinks maker recently launched a “retro” global multi-platform marketing campaign to mark its 125th anniversary, featuring the “I’d like to teach the world to sing” soundtrack from its famous 1970s hilltop ad.
