Vending

Coca-Cola Consolidated boosts Q1 2022 sales, earnings

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May 4, 2022

Coca-Cola Consolidated Inc. lifted its sales and earnings for Q1 2022 over the prior year period, boosted by pricing actions in the second half of 2021 and early 2022, according to an earnings release. Highlights include:

• Net sales increased 11% from $1.27 billion in Q1 2021 to $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022, while physical case volume decreased 0.6%.
• Net income rose from $53.4 million to $93.4 million in the comparative quarters.
• Diluted net income per share rose from $5.67 to $9.94 while Class B common stock rose from $5.67 to $9.96.
• The increase in net sales was driven primarily by pricing actions taken on most sparkling and still beverages during the second half of 2021 and the beginning of 2022.
• Sparkling bottle/can beverages rose 11.7% from $694.2 million to $775.6 million while still bottle/can beverages rose 11.4% from $420.1 million to $467.9 million.
• While sparkling beverage volume decreased 1.5% in the quarter, category demand remained strong when considering the higher pricing in the marketplace.
• Sales of single-serve products sold in small stores and other immediate consumption channels continued to perform well as on-premise outlets return to pre-pandemic operating levels.
• Sparkling immediate consumption packages were up 4.6% in the quarter.
• Still beverage volume increased 1.6% in the quarter driven primarily by Body Armor, which the company began distributing in the Mid-Atlantic territory at the beginning of 2022.

Shares traded at $449.53 Tuesday against a 52-week range of $281.01-$638.00.

The company declared a 25-cent per share quarterly dividend payable May 12 for shareholders of record April 28.

"After achieving record operating performance in 2021, we are off to a very strong start in 2022," J. Frank Harrison, III, chairman and CEO, said in the press release. "Two examples of recent investments include the purchase of our Charlotte, North Carolina production facility for $60 million and the acquisition of the Body Armor distribution rights in our Mid-Atlantic territory for $30 million."