Coca-Cola targets 5% 2020 growth as sparkling soft drinks jazz up sales

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Coca-Cola on Thursday reported better-than-expected quarterly sales driven by demand for its sparkling soft drinks, teas and coffees in North America and emerging markets.

The company has been pushing to launch more coffee, teas and low-sugar beverages to expand its offer of in-demand products as consumers move away from sugary drinks.

At the same time, rival PepsiCo is preparing for the launch of its own coffee-cola beverage that has double the caffeine punch as regular soda. Coca-Cola sells the product in some international markets and has yet to make a U.S. entry.

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Coca-Cola's shares were up about 2 percent in trading before the bell. The stock rose about 17 percent last year, compared with the broader S&P 500 Consumer Staples index and rival PepsiCo which have each gained about 24 percent.

(AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Coke sees 2020 organic revenues, a keenly watched metric that excludes currency fluctuations and acquisitions, to grow about 5 percent, compared with the 6 percent rise it reported in 2019.

For the year, Coke expects to record adjusted profit of $2.25 per share, a cent below analysts' forecast, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

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Excluding one-time items, Coca-Cola earned 44 cents per share in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, meeting Wall Street expectations.

Net revenue grew 16 percent to $9.07 billion, beating the estimate of $8.89 billion.

Net income attributable to the company's shareholders rose to $2.04 billion, or 47 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $870 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier.