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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 <PEP.O> 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 is yet to make a U.S. entry.
Coca-Cola's shares were up about 2% in trading before the bell.
The stock rose about 17% last year, compared with the broader
S&P 500 Consumer Staples index <.SPLRCS> and rival PepsiCo <PEP.O>
which have each gained about 24%.
Coke sees 2020 organic revenues, a keenly watched metric that
excludes currency fluctuations and acquisitions, to grow about
5%, compared with the 6% 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.
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% 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.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Tomasz
Janowski)
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