- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
Consumers lapping up Coca-Cola price hikes so far
Coca-Cola reported a jump in quarterly profits Monday in results showing the soda giant was able to implement price hikes with little sign of consumer pushback.
But the soft drink maker, which won strong revenue jumps in North America and most other regions, signaled it expects more of a negative consumer reaction to higher prices at some point given historic trends.
"Inflation generally ends with some pressure somewhere," Chief Executive James Quincey said on a conference call with analysts.
"Will that be next quarter or will that be next year? I can't give you the answer to that because it's very dependent on some macros and it's probably going to vary by country."
The company's strategy when faced with higher material or shipping costs is to lift prices when consumers are in better shape, Quincey said.
"Trying to catch up on pricing in a recessionary environment is very hard," Quincey said. "And so we have a bias to action."
In the first quarter, Coca-Cola reported profits of $2.8 billion, up 24 percent from the year ago period. Revenues rose 16 percent to $10.5 billion.
Sales volumes rose eight percent.
The beverage giant benefited from a recovery in consumption at entertainment spots, live sports and other "away-from-home" venues that suffered earlier in the pandemic.
Another positive driver was the rollout of the revamped Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, a popular diet cola, in some markets.
On the downside, Coca-Cola suffered a hit in China from the latest Covid-19 outbreak in the country. Revenues grew in Asia Pacific grew just one percent compared with a 22 percent jump in North America and a 34 percent increase in Latin America.
The company's decision to suspend its business in Russia due to the Ukraine invasion has hit volumes by one percent and dented net revenue and operating income by one to two percent.
"We continue to believe the recovery in 2022 will be asynchronous," said Quincey, as Coca-Cola confirmed most of its 2022 forecasts.
Shares of Coca-Cola were flat in afternoon trading at $52.25.
G.Machado--PC