Sales at Coca-Cola surged 16% during the first quarter as crowds returned to movie theaters, music venues and sport stadiums, offsetting rising input costs for the company and the suspension of operations in Russia.
Coca-Cola was among the companies to pull the plug on Russian operations after the country invaded neighboring Ukraine. But on Monday, it stuck by earlier revenue growth projections of 7% to 8% and per-share growth of 5% to 6% for the year.
The Atlanta company posted net income of $2.78 billion, or 64 cents per share, topping Wall Street’s expectations for per-share earnings by 6 cents, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.
The world’s largest beverage maker posted revenue of $10.49 billion in the period, also exceeding industry analyst forecasts of $9.91 billion.
Sales of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar increased 14%, while sales of its namesake Coca-Cola soft drink rose 6%. Overall sales for the sparkling soft drink category climbed 7%.
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