Coca-Cola reports strong second quarter results amid ‘ongoing recovery’

Coca-Cola’s coffee category grew 78% in the second quarter, primarily driven by the reopening of its Costa Coffee retail stores in the UK | Photo credit: Costa Coffee

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Reporting its second quarter results, the US beverage giant said net revenues grew 42% to $10.1bn. Meanwhile, year-to-date cash flow from operations was $5.5bn, up $2.7bn versus the year previous.
 
Coca-Cola’s coffee category grew 78% in the second quarter, primarily driven by the reopening of its Costa Coffee retail stores in the UK and the relaxation of Covid-19 trading restrictions in other markets, the company said.
 
“Our results in the second quarter show how our business is rebounding faster than the overall economic recovery, led by our accelerated transformation. As a result, we are encouraged and, despite the asynchronous nature of the recovery, we are raising our full year guidance,” said James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company
 
The results mark a reversal of fortunes for Coca-Cola, which posted an 11% revenue decline to $33bn in 2020. The recovery of Costa Coffee’s store sales will also be a boost for the US beverage giant, which acquired Europe’s largest coffee chain for £3.9bn ($5.3m) in 2018.
 
Costa Coffee operates coffee shops in 32 countries, but the majority of its 4,000-store portfolio is located in its native UK market, where it operates nearly 2,700 coffee shops. World Coffee Portal data shows that despite severe Covid-19 disruption, Costa Coffee still managed to open net 56 stores in the UK during 2020, retaining a 29% share of the UK’s total branded coffee chain market.
 
In June 2021, Costa Coffee appointed creative agency Imagination to deliver strategic design support across its 32 markets to support international growth.
 
Costa Coffee’s Express machine business has also proved resilient during the pandemic, with the coffee chain acquiring US automated coffee business Briggo, in October 2020, and expanding its Romanian self-serve presence through a partnership with petrol station operator, Auchan, in February 2021.
 
Indicating Coca-Cola’s continued confidence in the global coffee market, in June 2021, its CPG business, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) acquired a 30% equity shareholding in premium Italian retail coffee company Casa Del Caffè Vergnano.