Rising demand in Asia drives Coca-Cola results

Coca-Cola has exceeded its quarterly expectations, fueled by strong demand for its soft drinks. Especially in Asia, consumers appear to be returning to their pre-pandemic habits.

2019 levels

In March, the volumes, a key demand indicator, finally returned to levels recorded in 2019. This was announced by soft drink producer Coca-Cola.

Consumers bought more soft drinks in China and India, offsetting weaker results in the United States and Western Europe, where restrictions were tighter and consumers often had to remain at home. More so than major rival PepsiCo, Coca-Cola relies on sales in restaurants, cafes and during events.

Volumes remained stable during the first quarter, after declining throughout the past year, while organic sales grew 6 per cent. Sales rose to 9.02 billion dollars (7.5 billion euros), although the fact that the first quarter counted five more days than a year ago also played in favour of the American beverage company. Analysts had expected 8.63 billion dollars (7.2 billion euros), writes Reuters. The profit was also about 10 per cent higher than expected.