The Coca-Cola Co. made an official statement yesterday, posting its results for the second fiscal quarter of 2014 that missed analysts estimates due to decreased demand for some of its drinks in North America, such as Diet Coke and juice.
One of the analysts, who work at Morgan Stanley – Ms. Dara Mohsenian commented on the companys performance over the second quarter. Ms. Mohsenian said for Bloomberg: “Coke’s Q2 result was weaker than expected. The bar is low for Coke, but with weak topline results, worse than expected underlying profit, and slight negative EPS guidance revisions in H2, we would expect the stock to be down today.”
Coke, which is currently the biggest beverage company worldwide, reported that its revenue decreased by 1.4% and reached 12.6 billion dollars during the quarter ended June 27th. The result was lower than the 12.8-billion-dollar sales projection of analysts. The company also shared that its profit and revenue fell due to weaker performance of some foreign currencies and higher marketing expenses.
According to the companys statement net profit declined by 3% to 2.59 billion dollars or 58 cents a share, compared a 2.67-billion-dollar net profit or 59 cents apiece during the same period a year ago.
Despite demand for some of the companys beverages offered in North America declined, The Coca-Cola Co. reported growth in its soda volumes over the second three months of the financial year. The soda volumes increased by 2% thanks to the improved performance of the company in Asia and Africa, including a 9% increase in sales volumes in China.
Mr. Muhtar Kent, who is the Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Co. commented in a conference call with analysts, which was cited by the Financial Times: “While I am pleased with our progress to date, we remain focused on the work required to return our business to the level of sustainable growth we and our shareholders expect.”
The Coca-Cola Co. was 2.85% down to close at 41.19 dollars per share yesterday, marking a one-year change of +0.86%. According to the information published on CNN Money, the 20 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for The Coca-Cola Co. have a median target of 44.00, with a high estimate of 54.00 and a low estimate of 42.00. The median estimate represents a +6.82% increase from the last price of 41.19.
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