Emerging Markets Enhance Coca Cola’s 2nd Quarter Profitability

World's biggest soft drink maker, Coca Cola, has posted profits in emerging markets during the second quarter this year. The company on Tuesday said in a release, its second quarter figures showed marginal increases in profit because of its good showing in the markets like China, India, Brazil, and Turkey.

The above markets are not the only places where Coca Cola has been making inroads. Besides the powerful showing in these markets, the company has been also making moderate statements in even the developed markets, for instance in the European Union. Its performance in the EU has even helped it push to the background a decline in its performance in North America, something industry watchers had predicted.

The company declared a net revenue of $1.85 billion for the period mentioned. This translates to a current market value of 80 cents a share, which is an increase of almost 1% over the share price for the same period last year. The price at that time was 78 cents a share, bringing net revenue for that period to $1.84 billion.

Other increases have been in net operating revenue and worldwide case volume. Net operating revenue has jumped up from $6.48 billion last year to $7.73 billion, a 19 percent climb. Worldwide case volume has also shown a hike by 6 percent.

Besides its declaration of profit, Coca Cola has also been enjoying a good run at the stock market in recent weeks, with its shares being traded at a five-year high range. In the run-up to Tuesday, Coca Cola stock has become the fifth costliest stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the basis of a price-to-earnings scale.

The company's stock is trading at almost 20.5 times its earnings for 2007 so far. That number means it is trading higher than its closest competitor, PepsiCo, which is trading at 20.0 times its price.

Despite these numbers and its numero uno status, Coca Cola has been behind PepsiCo in certain areas, primary of them being that it has not been able to give the customers any options apart from the sweet fizz that most cola products are, unlike PepsiCo. However, it is taking a step towards correcting that by acquiring Fuze Beverages, a company selling tea and juice, and Glaceau, which markets vitamin water.