Emerging markets boost Coca Cola results

Coca Cola has reported a 55 percent jump in its fourth quarter profits thanks to strong growth in emerging markets. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company, whose brands include Diet Coke, Sprite and Dasani water, said that net income increased to $1.54 billion from $995 million a year earlier, while revenue increased 5.4 percent to $7.51 billion. The results were boosted by strong sales in emerging markets, which helped to offset weaker demand in the US, a market which reported a case volume decline of one percent. The domestic market has been affected by high unemployment and low consumer confidence, resulting in weak traffic to restaurants, among other factors. Sales by case volume grew 29 percent in China and 20 percent in India, helping to boost global volume by five percent. Brazil saw an eight percent gain. Developed markets such as France posted a 12 percent increase in unit case volume. During the quarter, the growth in China, India, Mexico and Brazil was equivalent to adding another market similar to Germany, the company's sixth-largest market. International sales now make up three quarters of Coca ColaÔÇÖs revenue. The company said it has hedges and other efforts in place to minimize the effects of the fluctuating US dollar, which has been gaining strength. Commenting on the results, Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said: "In a year marked by unprecedented economic uncertainty, our foundationÔÇöleading brands, unmatched global footprint, great bottling partners and a solid financial positionÔÇöproved that we have the right ingredients for growth even under challenging economic conditions. ÔÇ£Early last year we committed to align our Company and our system to emerge from this global crisis stronger. Our performance results for the year underscore that we are doing just that. ÔÇ£Now, with our 2020 Vision as our roadmap, we look forward to entering our next decade of growth as we work closely together with our bottling partners to usher in a new era of winning for the Coca-Cola system." The company gained volume and value share globally in non-alcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages for the tenth consecutive quarter, with share gains across most key categories. For the year, Coca Cola gained volume and value share in total NARTD beverages as well as in both the sparkling and still beverage categories.