American soft drink and food multinational Coca-Cola announced on Monday a net profit of US$3.107 million (2.823 million euros) in the first quarter of 2023, 12% higher than the US$2.781 million it earned in the same period last year.

In a statement, the company reported that its net operating bill increased 5% year-over-year to $10.98 billion.

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By category, soft drinks grew 3% between January and March thanks to strong business performance in Asia and Latin America, partially offset by business closures in Russia. Specifically, Coca-Cola’s flagship beverage grew 3%, while Coca-Cola Zero Sugar grew 8%, reflecting growth across all geographic areas.

In contrast, the water, coffee and tea group grew by 5%. Water alone increased 5% thanks to growth in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America.

Coca-Cola also reported sports drink sales fell 1%, mainly due to the fall of Bodyarmor and Powerade in the United States. Tea sales also plunged 3%, due to the collapse of Dogadan which was hit by the earthquake that hit Turkey in February.

The coffee segment grew by 9%, mainly due to the good performance of the Costa coffee chain in the UK and China.

Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said in a statement that the results demonstrated the company’s “resilience” in an “remaining dynamic” environment.

“Our systems alignment is stronger than ever, and our network organization allows us to adapt when needed. We continue to invest for the long term, strengthening our ability to generate sustainable value for our shareholders,” said Quincey, who also expressed confidence that the company can achieve its goals by 2023.

The company maintains its business forecasts for the year as a whole, so it expects its organic revenue to grow between 7% and 8% in 2023 compared to 2023.

The results were better than expected and Coca-Cola was up 1.7% in pre-open trading on Wall Street.

EFE.