Coca-Cola registers strong Q2 growth in sparkling soft drinks in India

Global soft drink major Coca-Cola on Wednesday said its sparkling soft drinks witnessed a ''strong'' double digit growth in the second quarter of this year, led by markets including India.

The Atlanta-headquartered company, in its global earnings released on Wednesday, said: ''Sparkling soft drinks grew 14 per cent, led by strong growth in the US, India and Brazil.'' However, the Indian market continued to be under pressure in comparison to the pre-pandemic 2019, though in some other global markets, it has witnessed growth.

''Markets such as China, Brazil and Nigeria grew volume ahead of 2019 levels while other markets, including India, continued to be under pressure versus 2019, driven by the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic,'' The Coca-Cola Company said.

During Q2, which ended on July 2, 2021, its nutrition, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages grew 25 per cent due to ''solid performance by Minute Maid and fairlife in North America, Minute Maid Pulpy in China and Maaza in India.'' In the Asia Pacific market, in which India falls, Coca-Cola's Unit case volume grew 16 per cent led by sparkling flavours and the hydration category.

''Unit case volume grew 16 per cent in the quarter, driven by growth across all operating units due to the ongoing recovery in market...,'' it said.

Unit case volume means the number of unit cases of beverages directly or indirectly sold by the company and its bottling partners to customers.

While overall, its ''unit case volume grew 25 per cent in the quarter, primarily driven by solid growth in India and South Africa''.

India is the fifth-largest market for Coca-Cola globally.

Overall, the Coca-Cola Company net revenues grew 42 per cent to USD 10.1 billion, and organic revenues (non-GAAP) grew 37 per cent.

''Revenue growth was driven by the ongoing recovery in markets where coronavirus-related uncertainty is abating, along with the benefit from cycling revenue declines from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic last year,'' it added.

James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said: ''Our results in the second quarter show how our business is rebounding faster than the overall economic recovery, led by our accelerated transformation. As a result, we are encouraged and, despite the asynchronous nature of the recovery, we are raising our full year guidance.'' He further said: ''We are executing against our growth plans and our system is aligned. We are better equipped than ever to win in this growing, vibrant industry and to accelerate value creation for our stakeholders.'' PTI KRH MKJ