The Coca-Cola Company today reports strong full-year and fourth quarter 2011 operating results, once again meeting or exceeding its long-term growth targets and gaining full-year volume and value share in total nonalcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages as well as in both sparkling and still beverages. The Company's strong 2011 performance, combined with its optimized and advantaged system, positions it well to deliver long-term, sustainable growth.

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, said, "Today, I am pleased to share that The Coca-Cola Company continues its momentum toward realizing our 2020 Vision, with stronger brands, clear strategies and well-focused execution to drive further growth. We once again achieved financial results for both the year and the quarter in line with, or ahead of, our long-term targets, with quarterly volume and revenue growth in every one of our five geographic operating groups. Importantly, we also continued to increase our global volume and value share in 2011.

"Even as we believe that global market volatility will continue in the near term, the breadth of our global footprint and the strength of our brands create a resilient business that was built for times like these. As we enter into the third year of our 2020 Vision, our Roadmap for Winning Together remains clear. The assumptions that shaped our 2020 Vision have not changed. Our expectations for long-term, sustainable and balanced growth across emerging and developed markets have not wavered. And we will continue to make significant investments in our future all around the world to support the tremendous opportunity we see in nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages, one of the fastest growing segments in consumer packaged goods.

"In a world looking for hope, optimism and renewal, Coca-Cola is privileged to be refreshing a thirsty world. Our solid performance reflects the continued investments we have made over time and in every economic condition to strengthen the health of our brands, starting with brandCoca-Cola, the very oxygen of our business. With our well-aligned global bottling system, world-class brands, strong financial discipline and a clear roadmap for growth, we are confident that we will achieve our long-term growth targets and continue to deliver increasing shareowner value. We truly believe we are just getting started and that our best and brightest days lie ahead. Thank you for your continued trust and confidence in The Coca-Cola Company."

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS 

The Coca-Cola Company reported worldwide volume growth of 5% for the full year and 3% during the quarter. Excluding new cross-licensed brands in North America, primarily Dr Pepper brands (which the Company began distributing Oct. 2, 2010), worldwide volume grew 4% for the full year, at the high end of our long-term growth target. Volume growth for the full year was well-balanced across the globe, with solid growth in key developed markets like North America, Japan and Germany and double-digit growth in key emerging markets like India and China. In addition, solid growth continued in countries with per capita consumption of Company brands less than 150 eight-ounce servings per year, with volume up 6% for the full year and 4% in the quarter. For both the full year and the quarter, we grew global volume and value share in NARTD beverages, with volume and value share gains across most beverage categories. Further, our immediate consumption beverages were up 4% globally in 2011, driven by focused in-store activation efforts and cold drink equipment expansion.

We continued to see growth in sparkling beverages, with gains in global volume and value share for the full year and in the quarter. This growth was driven by our continued focus on and investment in our brands, starting with brand Coca-Cola. Brand Coca-Cola volume grew 3% in both the full year and the quarter, with strong growth in the fourth quarter in a number of markets around the world, including 33% in Thailand, 15% in India, 13% in China, 12% in Argentina, 9% in Germany, 8% in Russia, 4% in both Mexico and France, and 3% in Japan. Worldwide sparkling beverage volume grew 2% in the quarter, with international sparkling beverage volume up 3% as we continue to focus on innovative, globally scaled marketing campaigns. For the full year, worldwide sparkling beverage volume grew 4%, with new cross-licensed brands in North America, primarily Dr Pepper brands, contributing one percentage point of this growth.

Worldwide still beverage volume grew 8% for the full year and 6% in the quarter, led by growth across the portfolio, including ready-to-drink teas, juices and juice drinks, energy drinks and water brands. International still beverage volume grew 10% for the full year and 7% in the quarter, and North America still beverage volume grew 4% for the full year and 3% in the quarter. We grew global still beverage volume and value share for the full year. In the quarter, we grew global still beverage volume share and successfully held value share as consumers continue to experience macroeconomic volatility. Minute Maid Pulpy continues to expand globally, with 20% volume growth in 2011. Energy drinks volume grew 19% in the quarter with broad distribution of our Burn energy brand, which is now available in nearly 80 countries. Water volume grew 7% in the quarter as we continue to focus on innovative and sustainable immediate consumption packaging like our PlantBottle™ in North America, which is driving new customer listings, and our I LOHAS/Ecoflex lightweight crushable bottle for water brands in Asia and Latin America. Packaging innovations like these underscore our commitment to ensure the long-term sustainability of our packaged water business and our focus on reducing our carbon footprint.