The Coca-Cola Co.’s share price up, posts improving first-quarter results despite declining soda volumes

The Coca-Cola Co., the worlds biggest soda manufacturer seems to be slowly gaining momentum in the first quarter of 2014. The companys profit, excluding some items was 44 US cents per share in the Q1, in line with analysts estimates. In addition, the sales growth in China was robust during the first three months of the year, while the company announced that the decline of its sales volume in North America has stopped.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Muhtar Kent, who is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Co., said in a press release that the companys “growth momentum is steadily improving in line with our expectations”. Mr. Kent also said in a conference call, which was cited by Bloomberg: “We don’t think this is a great result, but satisfying as one step in the right direction to restore momentum.”

However, The Coca-Cola Co. made an official statement, saying that its global soda volumes decreased by 1% in the first three months of the current fiscal year, which is the first drop of the carbonated soft-drinks unit of the company for about 15 years.

The company has recently followed quite aggressive strategy, whose goal was to expand the Coca Colas reach by making more investments in the companys major carbonated drinks. Part of the companys strategy is also launching new products on the market in an attempt to deal with the constantly decreasing soda sales.

The soda brands of Coca-Cola, which also include Fanta and Sprite brands, are considered to generate about 70% of the companys global sales. The slump in this segment of Coca-Colas business is considered a serious obstacle for companys further expansion and successful performance on the market.

After The Coca-Cola Co. posted its report for the first quarter of the current financial year, its Chief Executive Officer Mr. Kent reassured that he is going to work on improving the companys results. The company recently launched a special program, aimed at reducing costs, that has already shown some results.

Mr. Gary Fayard, who is the Chief Financial Officer of The Coca-Cola Co., commented in a Bloomberg interview: “The emerging markets all slowed down last year. A lot of those emerging markets are starting to slowly recover.”

The Coca-Cola Co. rose 3.74% to settle at $40.18 per share yesterday, marking a -5.17% one year change. According to the information published on CNN Money, the 18 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for The Coca-Cola Co. have a median target of 43.00, with a high estimate of 50.00 and a low estimate of 40.00. The median estimate represents a +7.02% increase from the last price of 40.18.