The Coca-Cola Company has maintained its positive growth momentum in its flagship North America. But the company is still looking to speed up its efforts of cutting the sugar in its drinks.
Coca-Cola announced in a press release that total sales in North America rose 3 percent to $2.66 billion. The volume sales of carbonated drinks such as Sprite, Fanta, and Coca-Cola Zero were responsible for the growth in the region, while the sales of Diet Coke fell.
The earnings report shows that global revenue of the company declined by 7 percent to $10.6 billion. This is due to foreign currency exchange headwind of 2 percent and a headwind from acquisitions, divestitures and structural items of 8 percent.
Despite the decline, Coca-Cola Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent said the results were in line with their expectations. "We continued to see solid revenue results in our developed markets with 2% unit case volume growth and a continued focus on price realization."
He adds that outstanding performance in the United States, Japan and Western Europe was due to innovation and world-class marketing. "Globally, we gained nonalcoholic ready-to-drink value share for the 37th consecutive quarter and are on track to deliver our financial commitments for the full year," he said.
Despite the strong performance in the U.S., Coca-Cola is still looking to speed up its efforts to reduce the sugar in its drinks. Reuters reports that the initiative comes as pressure from health experts and governments grow, blaming the sugary drinks with for the rise in obesity.
The company's latest move also comes after rival PepsiCo Inc announced last week its plans to reduce sugar in its drinks. Coca-Cola gets 70 percent of its volume sales from fizzy drinks.
Chief Operating Officer James Quincey said in a post-earnings conference call that they already have over 200 reformulation initiatives underway to reduce the added sugar in their drinks. He adds they will also be launching more sugar-free, low- and no-calorie products.
Coca-Cola has already successfully launched the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar product in Great Britain. The beverage is a new and improved sugar-free drink that will replace the Coca-Cola Zero.
The company said they already saw strong double-digit unit case volume growth in the quarter. This is with the help of significant media investment in the launch.
