Coca-Cola lifts profit forecast on rising soda demand

Coca-Cola Co raised its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday, as the reopening of theaters and restaurants in the United States drove demand for its sodas, sending its shares up 2 per cent in premarket trading.

Revenue from Coca-Cola's North America business rose 13 per cent in the third quarter, helped by the vaccine-aided reopening of public venues across the United States.

The company also raised prices to counter some of the impact from surging commodity and freight costs.

Coca-Cola expects its annual adjusted earnings per share to rise 15 per cent to 17 per cent, compared with a prior forecast of a 13 per cent to 15 per cent increase.

Its adjusted net operating revenue rose to $10.04 billion in the third quarter ended Oct. 1 from $8.65 billion a year earlier, compared with estimates of $9.75 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

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