Vending

Coca-Cola Consolidated boosts sales, earnings for Q4, FY 2020

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February 26, 2021

Coca-Cola Consolidated Inc. improved sales and earnings for Q4 and FY 2020, according to an earnings release.

Net sales increased 8.5% from $1.17 billion in Q4 2019 to $1.27 billion Q4 2020.

Income from operations for Q4 jumped from $39.5 million in 2019 to $93.6 million in 2020, while basic per share earnings jumped from a $1.09 loss in 2019 to a $7.08 gain in 2020.

Full year sales rose 3.7% from $4.8 billion in 2019 to $5 billion in 2020.

Income from operations jumped 74.3% from $108.8 million in 2019 to $313.4 million in 2020. Basic per share income rose 17.9% from $1.21 in 2019 to $18.4 in 2020.

Fourth quarter and full year 2020 results include four additional selling days versus 2019 results. On a comparable basis, net sales and physical case volume increased 3.5% and 2.6%, respectively.

Physical case volume increased 8.1% in Q4 2020. On a comparable basis, physical case volume increased 2.6% as sparkling beverages maintained steady growth and certain still brands, including BodyArmor, AHA and Monster, accelerated as compared to the prior year.

Sparkling category volume increased 1.1% on a comparable basis in Q4 2020, while comparable still beverage volume grew 6.8%.

Sales of multi-serve packages in larger retail stores remained strong, while single-serve sales improved in small stores and accounts where products are consumed on-premise.

The increase in revenue from the bottle/can sparkling beverages was driven primarily by price realization on multi-serve 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 the assortment of multi-pack can products in take-home outlets.

Revenue from still beverages increased in Q4 of 2020 as a result of higher sales volume across multiple selling channels.

"COVID related quarantines and other restrictions we experienced in 2020 caused a severe downturn in parts of our business, but they also resulted in a significant increase in demand for our products across our take-home channels," Dave Katz, president and CEO, said in the release. "Our full-year financial results reflect the strong benefit of the pricing realization, manufacturing efficiencies and cost savings we achieved throughout the year. The combination of these factors along with favorable input costs, drove our operating income up more than $100 million to $313 million for the full year.

"We are very optimistic about our top line growth opportunities in 2021 as we execute a robust commercial plan with our brand partners, but we are also mindful of the continuing impact COVID-19 is having on our communities and the uncertainty it brings to our operating environment," Katz said. "When impacted business channels reopen and consumer buying patterns normalize, we expect our operating costs to increase as we adjust our business model to properly grow and service our full portfolio of customers. While we expect to achieve another solid year of financial performance in 2021, the combination of higher operating expenses and expected input cost inflation will likely result in 2021 income from operations below the record performance we reached in 2020."

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