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Shares of the world's largest beverage maker
rose 3.4 percent in premarket trading.
Coke's sales in North America have declined or remained flat for
the last three quarters as U.S. consumers opt for healthier
beverages and shift away from diet sodas due to concerns over
artificial sweeteners.
North American sales rose 2 percent to $5.37 billion in the
fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, accounting for about half of total
sales.
Analysts say U.S. consumers are still drinking less soda but are
paying more for it.
Low gasoline prices and a brighter job market have encouraged
many consumers to dig a little deeper into their pockets. U.S.
consumer confidence is at its highest in more than seven years,
according to a report released in January.
Coke said in October it would cut costs and announced a timeline
for selling its lower-margin bottling operations.
"We continue to see 2015 as a transition year as the benefits
from the announced initiatives will take time to materialize
amidst an uncertain and volatile macroeconomic environment,"
Chief Executive Muhtar Kent said on Tuesday.
The world's largest beverage maker said net income attributable
to shareholders fell to $770 million, or 17 cents per share, in
the fourth quarter from $1.71 billion, or 38 cents per share, a
year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned 44 cents per share.
Net operating revenue fell 2 percent to $10.87 billion.
Analysts on average were expecting profit of 42 cents per share
on revenue of $10.76 billion, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.
(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by
Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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