(Reuters) -Coca-Cola Co trounced Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Monday, fueled by strong demand for its beverages from the gradual reopening of restaurants and cinema theaters following accelerated vaccine rollouts.
Net revenue rose to $9.02 billion in the first quarter, from $8.60 billion a year earlier, above analysts’ average estimate of $8.63 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
A reopening of economies and parts of the United States relaxing social distancing protocols since December provided much-needed relief for Coca-Cola, which struggled for most of last year during the pandemic-caused lockdowns.
Organic sales, which strip out acquisition and currency impacts, grew 6%.
Net income attributable to the company’s shareholders fell to $2.25 billion, or 52 cents per share, from $2.78 billion, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier.
The company and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) also announced plans to list CCBA as a publicly traded company.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
