- Coca-Cola reports £1.33 billion of net income in the fiscal third quarter.
- The U.S. firm posts £6.61 billion of revenue and 42.02 pence of adjusted EPS.
- The beverage company refrained from giving future guidance due to COVID-19.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) published its financial results for the fiscal third quarter on Thursday that came in stronger than what analysts had anticipated. In the prior quarter (Q2), Coca-Cola had registered a 33% decline in earnings.
Shares of the company jumped 2.5% in premarket trading on Thursday but lost over 1% on market open. Including the price action, Coca-Cola is now exchanging hands at £38.61 per share. In comparison, it had a per-share price of a higher £42 at the start of 2020.
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Coca-Cola Q3 financial results versus analysts’ estimates
Coca-Cola said that its net income in the third quarter came in at £1.33 billion that translates to 30.56 pence per share. In the same quarter last year, its net income was recorded at a higher £1.98 billion or 45.84 pence per share.
On an adjusted basis, the beverage company earned 42.02 pence per share versus a lower 35.14 pence expected, as per FactSet.
In terms of revenue in Q3, the U.S. company posted £6.61 billion as compared to £7.27 billion in the comparable quarter of last year. But its revenue was better than the FactSet Consensus of £6.39 billion.
Coca-Cola said that its revenue was still taking a hit due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has significantly declined sales at sporting events, movie theatres, and other away-from-home avenues. The COVID-19 crisis has so far infected more than 8.5 million people in the United States and caused over 225 thousand deaths.
The American multinational acknowledged the COVID-19 uncertainty as it refrained from giving detailed guidance for the future.
The Atlanta-based company is currently in the process of a revamp that will remove half of the current brands from its portfolio. In an earlier announcement, Coca-Cola already expressed plans of discontinuing Tab diet Soda and Odwalla juices.
CEO James Quincey’s remarks on Thursday
CEO James Quincey of Coca-Cola commented on the financial report on Thursday and said:
“Throughout this year’s crisis, our system has remained focused on its beverages for life strategy. We are accelerating our transformation that was already underway, shaping our company to recover fast than the broader economic recovery. While many challenges still lie ahead, our progress in the quarter gives me confidence we are on the right path.”
Coca-Cola performed fairly upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of a little under 20%. At the time of writing, the American multinational beverage corporation is valued at £166 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 23.78.
