Home / Markets

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Coke's Profit Jumps 14%, Aided by Emerging Markets

FOXBusiness

Related Content

Coca-Cola's (KO) profit rose 14% in the third quarter ending Sept. 26, with growth in emerging markets providing much of the boost.

The soft-drink maker earned $1.89 billion, or 81 cents a share, up from $1.65 billion, or 71 cents a share, a year earlier. Thomson Reuters analysts had expected earnings of 77 cents per share.

Net revenue for the company was up 9% at $8.39 billion.

Although the U.S. markets were weak, Coca-Cola’s holdings in other markets, including South America and China, helped it to make a profit. Coke experienced 10% growth in its line of uncarbonated drinks including juice and bottled water, and had a 5% increase in case volume. However, CEO Muhtar Kent said in a statement that operations in North America will continue to be challenging as the company heads into 2009.

Coca-Cola fared better than its rival PepsiCo (PEP), which reported a 9.5% drop in third-quarter profits, issued a downbeat outlook and announced a cut of 3,300 jobs.

"Our system's ability to adapt to changing economic and consumer environments was key to our success during the quarter, and we believe that this adaptability will continue to be crucial to the business going forward," Kent said in a statement.