Coca-Cola Reports 6% Jump in Earnings

Soft drink giant Coca-Colareleased earnings this morning, showing continued mediocre growth in the beverage market worldwide.

Revenue fell 3% overall in the third quarter to $12.03 billion, but it's important to note that the company deconsolidated (or no longer adds in revenue for) bottling operations in Brazil and the Philippines. This deconsolidation hurt growth by 4% and currency changes accounted for another 2% decline. Management said that pulling out those changes would result in a 4% increase in revenue for the quarter.

Despite the lower revenue, a decline in selling, general & administrative expenses helped drive a 6% increase in net income to $2.45 billion, or $0.54 per share. The deconsolidation of bottling operations mentioned above gets added back into the bottom line, so Brazil and the Philippines are still contributing to the bottom line.

One of the key figures to watch at Coca-Cola is volume growth, which was 2% year over year. The Americas grew 1% and Coca-Cola International grew 3%, both consistent with GDP growth rates we've seen around the world.

These aren't knockout growth numbers for Coca-Cola but the business has reached a size where that 4% adjusted growth is about all investors expect. Shares were up 1.5% pre-market and investors still get a 3% dividend yield.

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Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Coca-Cola. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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