Coca-Cola revenue tumbles as lockdowns hammer soda sales

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The Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite maker generates about half of its revenues by selling its soft drinks and concentrates to restaurants and theater operators, such as McDonald’s Corp (N:MCD) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (N:AMC), but most of them had to close some or all of their operations under government-mandated curbs to fight the health crisis.

“We believe the second quarter will prove to be the most challenging of the year; however, we still have work to do,” Chief Executive Officer James Quincey said in a statement.

The Atlanta-based company reported adjusted revenue of $7.18 billion for the second quarter ended June 26, largely in line with Wall Street estimates according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Unit volume, a key measure that indicates demand, declined 16%, with Coca-Cola falling 7% and sparkling soft drinks tumbling 12%.

Rival PepsiCo Inc (O:PEP) also reported a fall in beverage sales, but a boost in at-home consumption of snacks helped it beat quarterly revenue estimates.

Excluding one-time items, Coca-Cola earned 42 cents per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of 40 cents.

Net income attributable to the beverage maker’s shareholders fell to $1.78 billion, or 41 cents per share, from $2.61 billion or 61 cents per share, a year earlier.