Coca-Cola (KO 1.50%) shares rose 2.8% in pre-market trading, following the release of Coke's first-quarter results this morning.
Net revenues fell 4% year over year to $10.6 billion. Case volumes increased by 2%. In its flagship North American market, soda volume slipped 1% as the company raised prices. Stripping out currency exchange headwinds and the effect of structural changes to Coca-Cola's German operations, comparable sales grew by 2%. Notably, Coca-Cola changed the way it translates Venezuelan bolivars into U.S. dollars and recorded a $247 million charge to reflect the new policy.
GAAP earnings fell 6% to $0.36 per share while non-GAAP, currency-neutral earnings climbed 5% higher to $0.48 per share.
Sales were in line with Wall Street estimates. Analysts pegged earnings at $0.44 per share, in line with Coke's reported non-GAAP results before backing out the Venezuelan currency effects. Taking the currency adjustments into consideration, Coca-Cola beat the Street view by 10%.
Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent promised to accelerate marketing efforts around the upcoming FIFA world cup.
"All of us at The Coca-Cola Company remain confident in our ability to deliver on our strategies while further strengthening our foundation for profitable and sustainable long-term growth toward our 2020 Vision," Kent said in a prepared statement.
-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
