Vending

Coca-Cola Consolidated boosts Q2 2021 sales, earnings

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August 11, 2021

Coca-Cola Consolidated Inc. reported net sales rose 17% from $1.23 billion million in Q2, 2020 to $1.43 billion for the quarter ending July 2, 2021, driven by the significant increase in sales of still beverages, which generally carry a higher selling price per case than sparkling beverages, according to a press release.

Income from operations rose 45% from $83.1 million to $120.9 million in the comparative quarters. On an adjusted basis, income from operations in the second quarter of 2021 was $120.7 million, an increase of 47.8%.

Basic net income per share rose 91 cents from $4.23 to $5.14 in the comparative quarters.

The re-opening of certain small store and other immediate consumption channels helped drive the growth in still beverages as these channels have a higher mix of still beverages than take-home outlets.

In addition, the increase in revenue was driven by price realization on most sparkling packages.

Sales of multi-serve PET packages were especially strong in the quarter as the company adjusted commercial plans to emphasize these packages to complement its assortment of multi-serve can products in take-home outlets.

Sales growth in on-premise channels is now outpacing take-home channels.

Revenue from fountain syrup, which is primarily sold through restaurants, convenience stores, amusement parks and other on-premise outlets, increased $20.8 million, or 92.4%, during the second quarter of 2021 as these outlets began to operate at higher levels of capacity.

Sparking sales rose 8.7% from $694.2 million to $754.7 million; still beverage sales rose from $397 million to $499 million; and fountain sales rose from $22.5 million to $43.3 million.

Shares traded at $394.11 Tuesday against a 52-week range of $223.50-$460.

"Our second quarter results were incredibly strong, especially considering the current operating environment of rising commodity costs, labor shortages for many of our front line positions and challenges with some inbound manufacturing inputs," Dave Katz, president and chief operating officer, said in the release. "Our strong sales growth of 17% in the second quarter reflects our success in executing key brand strategies that include Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, BodyArmor, AHA and smartwater."