Coca-Cola top Q4 estimates with $1.46 billion net income, as cost cuts offset reduced sales

Coca-Cola reported a fourth-quarter net income of $1.46 billion, or 34 cents per share, down from $2.04 billion, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier, as fresh pandemic curbs globally closed its biggest sales drivers, such as restaurants, cinemas, and sporting events.

In response, the company accelerated its workforce restructuring and slimmed down its portfolio.

Excluding restructuring charges and other items, Coke earned 47 cents per share, topping the 42 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Net sales dropped 5 percent to $8.6 billion, which was below last year's $9.07 billion. It was also short of analysts' expectations of $8.63 billion.

Organic revenue, which excludes the impact of foreign currency, acquisitions, or divestitures, dropped 3 percent in the quarter.

Unit case volume, a key demand indicator, plunged fell 3 percent, improving from a compared with a 4 percent drop in the preceding quarter.

All four of Coke's beverage segments reported volume declines, with Latin America being the only geographic region to report volume growth.