Beverage major Coca-Cola witnessed double-digit volume and top line growth in India in the third quarter ended September 29. As per reports, there was an 8 per cent Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) jump in net revenue to $12 million; the operating income grew 6 per cent to touch $3,270 million in the same period.
“In India, we delivered double-digit volume and top line growth, which resulted in value share gains in the past three years,” James Quincy, chief executive officer (CEO), Coca-Cola Company after announcing its third-quarter results. “We are winning in the (India) market by creating 2.6 billion transactions at affordable price points and driving availability across rural regions,” he added.
The Indian market has played a role in the growth of Coca-Cola’s overall growth from the Asia Pacific region and the emerging market. As per reports, in the June quarter, the Coca-Cola Company’s India business was impacted due to unseasonal rainfall during the summers in the country, when sales of fizz-based drinks were at their peak. For its Bottling Investments Group (BIG) — an in-house unit handling its bottling operations in some countries — India also drove its global growth in the segment. “Unit case volume grew 2 per cent, primarily driven by growth in India and the Philippines, partially offset by the impact of refranchising bottling operations,” it said.
As India is the fifth largest market for The Coca-Cola Company. In the Asia Pacific market, Coca-Cola’s unit case volume was ”even” as growth in Trademark Coca-Cola and other beverage categories was offset by a decline in water, the company said. “Growth in India and the Philippines was offset by declines in China and Indonesia,” it said. The company gained value share in total non-alcoholic-ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages in the Asia Pacific market, led by share gains in India, the Philippines, South Korea and Japan, the earnings statement added. Unit case volume means the number of unit cases of company beverages directly or indirectly sold by the company and its bottling partners to customers.