Consumers still willing to pay more for their Coca-Cola

Although barely more Coca-Cola crossed counters, the soft drink giant made 3% more revenue in the first quarter. The producer is even raising forecasts for the rest of the year.

Up 13% already

Coca-Cola exceeded sales and profit expectations in the first quarter, as customers worldwide continue to be willing to spend more for the group’s drinks. Sales rose 3% to 11.3 billion dollars (about 10.5 billion euros), thanks to selling prices that rose by as much as 13% on average. Volumes climbed only 1% and concentrate sales were actually down 2%.

Organic sales rose 15% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, compared to 7% growth in North America. Internationally, growth was driven by launches in new markets, as well as new product launches and reformulations of existing products, such as new Sprite variants.

Margin halved

Yet it is notable that Coca-Cola is earning less: operating margin almost halved in the first quarter compared to a year ago, from 30.7% in 2023 to 18.9% now. Exchange rate fluctuations played a big role. Coca-Cola nevertheless maintains its forecast: comparable earnings per share should grow 4% to 5% this year.

Sales will grow even more (8 to 9%) than first forecast, the soft drink giant believes, mainly because people out of home do not mind a more expensive Coke all that much. In the on-trade, the producer is also leveraging shrinkflation, such as bottles of 20 centilitres instead of 25 centilitres at the same price.