Considering volatile global economic conditions in the second quarter, things could have been far worse for Coca-Cola . Adjusted for one-time items, earnings came in at 60 cents a share, surpassing Wall Street estimates for 58 cents. As in recent quarters, Coca-Cola’s bottom line benefited from cost cuts and a heavy dose of share repurchases. Coke’s net sales fell 5% from the prior year to $11.5 billion, narrowly falling short of analysts’ forecasts for $11.6 billion. Excluding the impact of the strong U.S. dollar, sales rose 3%, in line with Wall Street estimates. Coke’s closely watched North America market saw mixed results. Sparkling beverage — which includes products such as Coca-Cola soda and Sprite — saw volume fall 1%. Volume for still beverages such as tea and water rose 3%. Meanwhile, volatile economic conditions overseas took their toll on Coke, with sales falling in Europe, Latin America and Asia/Pacific. As a result, Coke lowered its full-year organic revenue growth outlook to 3%, from 4% to 5% previously. It maintained its full-year profit growth target, excluding one-time items, of 6% to 8%. Shares fell as much as 3% in early trading on Wednesday. TheStreet’s Brian Sozzi talks with Coca-Cola’s President and COO James Quincey about the quarter and the reasons behind the more cautious outlook this year.
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