Coca-Cola jumps after reporting better-than-expected profit

Kimberly Chin

Feb 16, 2018, 19:47 IST

Coca-Cola jumps after reporting better-than-expected profit

Coca-Cola's stock jumped after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
It was hit with a one-time tax charge of $3.6 billion.
View Coca-Cola's stock in real time here.

Shares of Coca-Cola rose 2.47% Friday morning after the beverage maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

The company earned an adjusted $0.39 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $0.38 per share.

However, the company was hit by a one-time charge of $3.6 billion related to the new US tax laws, putting pressure on its sales. Coca-Cola said net operating revenue fell to $7.51 billion from $9.41 billion a year ago, though it was above analysts' expectations of $7.36 billion, according to Reuters data.

The company reported a quarterly net loss of $2.75 billion, or $0.65 per share, which was largely attributed to the tax charge.

Yet Coca-Cola's organic sales, or revenues derived from the company's existing operations, rose 6%, due to its non soda-related products, such as coffees, teas and vitamin water. The company is expanding its efforts to offer healthy drinks like coconut water and diet sodas in order to appeal to consumers' recent tastes.

The beverage company also recently completed its efforts to refranchise its bottling operations in the US, which the company believes will put less pressure on the company's margins as it moves from outsourced bottling companies to its own single system.

Coca-Cola's stock was trading at $45.65 per share. It was down 1.67% for the year.