Coca-Cola Tops Q1 Estimates, Shares Rise

The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) reported upbeat results for the first quarter on Wednesday.The Atlanta, Georgia-based company posted quarterly earnings of $1.56 billion, or $0.35 per share, compared to $1.62 billion, or $0.36 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company earned $0.48 per share.Its net operating revenue rose 1.3 percent to $10.71 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.42 per share on revenue of $10.66 billion.Beverage volumes rose 1 percent during the quarter. World-wide soda volumes gained 1 percent, while noncarbonated beverage volumes also rose 1 percent.Organic revenue in Eurasia And Africa gained 7 percent, while organic revenue surged 5 percent in Europe. Latin America organic revenue jumped 11 percent, while North America organic revenue rose 10 percent. Organic revenue in Asia Pacific climbed 6 percent.The average estimate among 41 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.44 per share and revenue of $10.69 billion.Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company said, "We are pleased with our solid progress on the implementation and execution of our global strategic initiatives. Though we are still in the early stages, we see some initial positive indicators that we have the right strategies in place to accelerate growth. However, we continue to view 2015 as a transition year as the benefits from the announced initiatives will take time to fully materialize amidst an uncertain and volatile macroeconomic environment."Coca-Cola projects 2015 comparable currency neutral earnings per share growth in mid-single digits.Coca-Cola shares rose 2.38 percent to $41.75 in pre-market trading.