Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola Co. reported strong earnings in the first quarter of 2023, benefiting from recent price hikes and steady demand for its products. The company’s revenue and profit in Q1 both topped the numbers estimated by analysts.
Coca-Cola has increased its prices by 11% on average in early 2023 in an attempt to offset the surging costs of production and shipping. However, the company continued to perform well, with net sales increasing by 5% while organic revenues (non-GAAP) jumped by 12%. It reported $10.96 billion in revenue compared to the $10.8 billion expected, while adjusted earnings per share came at $0.68 cents versus $0.64 cents expected by the analysts polled by Refinitiv.
The company also said that its operating margin declined from 32.5% in the prior year to 30.7%, while comparable operating margin (non-GAAP) came at 31.8% versus 31.4% in 2022. The cash flow from operations declined from $460 million to $160 million in the same period.
For 2023, Coca-Cola expects to deliver organic revenue growth of 7% to 8% and comparable EPS growth of 4% to 5% compared to $2.48 in 2022.
After unveiling its Q1 earnings, Coca-Cola’s shares have jumped by more than 1% in premarket trading and opened at $64.84 on Monday morning. The company’s stock slipped later in the day to a price of $63.86.