Coca-Cola up after Reporting Numbers

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) shares are up over 1% in morning trade after the company reported profits and revenues for its December quarter that exceeded analyst estimates. The company earned $1.65 billion, or 72 cents per share, for the period ended Dec. 31. That’s down sharply from $5.77 billion, or $2.46 per share, a year earlier. But a year ago, the company’s earnings included a one-time net gain of $1.74 per share.

Removing restructuring charges and other items, earnings were 79 cents per share. This exceeded analyst consensus estimates of 77 cents per share. Revenue increased 5 percent to $11.04 billion. This also topped Wall Street’s $11 billion estimate. The strong results were driven by higher prices, strength overseas and solid results from the Coca-Cola brand, juices and teas.

For the year, net income fell 27 percent to $8.57 billion, or $3.69 per share. That compares with $11.81 billion or $5.06 per share last year. Revenue rose 33 percent to $46.54 billion from $35.12 billion.

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, said, “Today, I am pleased to share that The Coca-Cola Company continues its momentum toward realizing our 2020 Vision, with stronger brands, clear strategies and well-focused execution to drive further growth. We once again achieved financial results for both the year and the quarter in line with, or ahead of, our long-term targets, with quarterly volume and revenue growth in every one of our five geographic operating groups. Importantly, we also continued to increase our global volume and value share in 2011.

“Even as we believe that global market volatility will continue in the near term, the breadth of our global footprint and the strength of our brands create a resilient business that was built for times like these. As we enter into the third year of our 2020 Vision, our Roadmap for Winning Together remains clear. The assumptions that shaped our 2020 Vision have not changed. Our expectations for long-term, sustainable and balanced growth across emerging and developed markets have not wavered. And we will continue to make significant investments in our future all around the world to support the tremendous opportunity we see in nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages, one of the fastest growing segments in consumer packaged goods.

Coca-Cola’s “long-term fundamentals and earnings growth will eventually trump short-termism,” Bonnie Herzog, an analyst with Wells Fargo & Co. in New York, said in a Feb. 6 note.

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Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.