#Coca-Cola earnings: Sales plunge 28 percent amid coronavirus lockdown

Coca-Cola’s global sales plummeted 28 percent in the second quarter as coronavirus lockdowns continued to crimp consumption, the company said Tuesday.

The soft drink giant said pressure on “away-from-home channels” such as restaurants, bars and movie theaters drove the decline. Officials around the world have shut down such venues — which account for roughly half of Coke’s revenues — to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $7.2 billion in net sales that Coke raked in from April to June was roughly in line with Wall Street’s expectations despite falling from about $10 billion a year ago, according to Bloomberg data. The Atlanta-based conglomerate expects sales to improve through the rest of the year as the lockdowns ease — though the pandemic makes that far from certain.

“We believe the second quarter will prove to be the most challenging of the year; however, we still have work to do as we drive our pursuit of ‘Beverages for Life’ and meet evolving consumer needs,” Coke Chairman and CEO James Quincey said in a statement.

The pandemic has also hammered Coke’s profits, with adjusted earnings per share plunging 33 percent year-over-year to 42 cents. But that was better than Wall Street’s dim expectations for 40 cents a share, according to Bloomberg data.

The earnings beat helped lift Coke’s stock price as much as 4 percent to $47.99 in early trading Tuesday.

Coke indicated that “sustained, elevated sales” of its products for at-home consumption have helped it recover since the pandemic forced consumers to hunker down at home this spring.

The number of cases of drinks sold by Coke and its bottling partners was down about 10 percent in June, a marked improvement from April’s roughly 25 percent decline, the company said.

But sales volume was still off 16 percent for the quarter “as all operating groups experienced coronavirus-related pressure,” Coke said. That included a 12 percent drop in the sparkling soft drinks segment, with Coke’s eponymous cola falling 7 percent, the company said.