On October 23rd, Coca Cola Company released its financial report for the third quarter of 2024. According to the financial report, the company's third quarter revenue was $11.854 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 1%, but exceeded market expectations of $11.61 billion; Operating profit of 2.51 billion US dollars; Net profit was 2.85 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 7.8%; Earnings per share were $0.77, an increase of 5%, higher than the market expectation of $0.75. The cumulative revenue for the first three quarters was 35.517 billion US dollars, while the cumulative revenue for the same period last year was 34.905 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1.75%.
Overall, thanks to factors such as rising product prices and increased sales of carbonated beverages and tea products, Coca Cola delivered a higher than expected performance report in the third quarter and announced an upward adjustment to its 2024 performance guidance. In terms of the Chinese market, the CEO of Coca Cola reiterated his long-term confidence in the market and will continue to invest.
Overall product price increase
Sugar free cola sales continue to lead
From the perspective of price performance, Coca Cola's price combination in the third quarter, which includes a series of products, increased by 10%, but about 4% of the increase came from markets with severe inflation such as Argentina. However, due to weak international market demand, the total unit box sales in the third quarter decreased by 1%. Specifically, Coca Cola's unit box sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific region all decreased by 2%; The unit box sales in the North American market remained relatively stable, with sales of water, sports, coffee, and tea products shrinking, but sales of soda water, fruit juice, dairy products, plant-based beverages, and carbonated drinks increasing.
Among them, carbonated beverages and tea products have performed well. Coca Cola pointed out that global sales of carbonated beverages and flagship brand "Coca Cola" remained the same as last year in the third quarter; Global sales of sugar free Coca Cola increased by 11%. In fact, the growth trend of sugar free Coca Cola has been continuing in recent years. As shown in the 2022 financial report, the sales growth rate of sugar free Coca Cola reached 11%; The Q2 2024 report shows that global sales of sugar free Coca Cola increased by 6% in the second quarter.
In addition, global tea beverage sales increased by 7% in the third quarter, mainly driven by growth in the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa markets.
In the financial report, Coca Cola Company updated its 2024 performance guidance, increasing the growth rate of comparable currency neutral earnings per share (non GAAP) to 14% -15%, higher than the previously estimated 13% -15%, demonstrating firm confidence in the company's long-term stable development. Meanwhile, Coca Cola expects an organic revenue growth rate of 10% for the full year of 2024; The growth rate of earnings per share is between 5% and 6%, consistent with the previously released guidelines.
CEO reaffirms long-term confidence in the Chinese market
Since the beginning of this year, domestic production capacity has accelerated its expansion
In terms of the Chinese market, Coca Cola's overall sales have shown a downward trend since the second quarter, but the company still has strong confidence in the future performance of the Chinese market.
During the earnings conference call, James Chan, Chairman and CEO of Coca Cola Company, analyzed the performance of the Chinese market, pointing out that it is not only affected by changes in the external environment, but also closely related to the company's strategic decisions. He mentioned that the company is more focused on core categories in the Chinese market, such as carbonated beverages, and has received positive market feedback.
Zhan Kunjie stated that he will focus on areas that he can control and influence in the Chinese market, including marketing, innovation, and improving execution. He reiterated the company's confidence in the long-term growth of the Chinese market and stated that it will continue to invest to seize future growth opportunities.
Since the beginning of this year, Coca Cola has continued to increase its investment in the Chinese market.
On October 18th, Yunnan Taikoo Coca Cola's new packaging glass bottle production line was officially put into operation. The total investment of the production line is about 17.741 million yuan, and it can produce glass bottles of Coca Cola, Sprite, and Fanta. It is reported that with the launch of the new packaging glass bottle production line, Yunnan Taikoo Coca Cola can supply more than 150 SKUs of products in Yunnan, including soda, juice, tea drinks, coffee, drinking water, etc.
In addition, the Guangdong Taikoo Coca Cola Greater Bay Area Intelligent Green Production Base, which started construction in Guangzhou in May this year, is currently under smooth construction. It is reported that the total investment of the project is 1.25 billion yuan, covering an area of nearly 128000 square meters. It plans to build 11 beverage production lines, a three-dimensional warehouse, and supporting facilities. After completion, it will increase production capacity by about 66% compared to the current level.
At the same time, the relocation project of COFCO Coca Cola Shaanxi Company is steadily progressing. The project is expected to be put into operation in September 2025, covering an area of 170 acres with a factory construction area of approximately 79000 square meters and a total investment of 1 billion yuan. The new factory is planned to have 8 beverage production lines and 1 syrup production line, with a maximum designed production capacity of approximately 1.1 million tons.