Coca-Cola signals recovery after 'most challenging' quarter

(Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> said on Tuesday demand for its sodas was improving after reporting a 28% slump in sales in one of its "most challenging" quarters of the year due to coronavirus-led closures of restaurants, theaters and sports venues.

Shares of the world's largest soda maker rose about 2% before the bell as it also beat second-quarter profit estimates.

Coca-Cola generates a sizeable portion of its revenues by selling its soft drinks and concentrates to restaurants and theater operators, such as McDonald's Corp <MCD.N> and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc <AMC.N>, but most of them had to close some or all of their operations due to the health crisis.

The Atlanta-based company said unit case volume trends, a key demand indicator, improved sequentially, from a decline of about 25% in April to a fall of about 10% in June as lockdowns eased.

Volume trends for the month of July to-date was down mid-single digits globally.

For the June quarter, it declined 16%, with trademark Coca-Cola falling 7% and sparkling soft drinks dropping 12%.

Unit volume of teas and coffees tumbled 31%, largely because of the temporary closure of Costa stores in Western Europe.

Rival PepsiCo Inc <PEP.O> also reported a fall in beverage sales in North America, but a boost from at-home consumption of snacks helped the company beat quarterly revenue estimates.

Coca-Cola reported adjusted revenue of $7.18 billion (5.66 billion pounds), largely in line with estimates according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

On a per share basis, Coca-Cola earned 42 cents, beating analysts' average estimate of 40 cents.

Net income attributable to the beverage maker's shareholders fell about 32% to $1.78 billion.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)