Coca-Cola has reported a 7% decrease in its net sales to $10.6bn for the third quarter of this year, compared to $11.4bn for the same period in 2015.
The soft drinks giant has blamed the impact of foreign currency and structural changes for its losses although it has done better than the estimates predicted by industry analysts.
In its developed markets, the company achieved positive revenue results with its unit case volume growing by 2% with contribution mainly coming from the US, Japan and Western Europe.
The beverage company says that it has rolled out more than 500 new products this year.
In the nonalcoholic ready-to-drink segment, Coca Cola gained global volume for the 37th consecutive quarter.
Despite the prevailing global economic and political volatility, the company grew its core business organic revenues by 4% although its year-to-date reported net revenues went down b 5%.
Coca-Cola chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent said: “We believe this core business reflects the ultimate destination of our transformed company – an enterprise positioned to capture sustainable growth through a laser focus on innovating across our portfolio, building strong brands, and leveraging unparalleled customer service through aligned bottlers.
“As we continue on our path to transform the global system, we remain committed to our strategic actions for growth that will create long-term shareowner and stakeholder value."
With respect to the sparkling beverages, Coca Cola said that the unit case volume was even with growth in three of the four geographic operating segments balanced by a 2% decrease in Latin America.
Water and sports drinks in the Coca Cola family ensured that the still beverage unit case volume went up by 3%.
Coca Cola’s operating margin expanded more than 50 basis points while it recorded earnings per share (EPS) at $0.24 and comparable EPS (Non-GAAP) at $0.49.
The beverage giant also said that it has signed six definitive agreements and closed four transactions in North America.
