Coca-Cola Profit Jumps 18% as Sales Gain in Latin America

By Duane D. Stanford - Jul 19, 2011 1:07 PM PT .

Coca-Cola Co. (KO), the world’s largest soft-drink maker, said second-quarter profit rose 18 percent as sales in Latin America and Asia gained.

Net income advanced to $2.8 billion, or $1.20 a share, from $2.37 billion, or $1.02, a year earlier, the Atlanta-based company said today in a statement. Excluding some items, profit was $1.17 a share, topping the $1.16 average of 14 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent has built new plants in emerging markets and pushed more profitable package sizes overseas to help offset limited U.S. pricing gains this year. Second-quarter net operating revenue climbed 13 percent in Latin America and 15 percent in Coke’s Eurasia and Africa division.

“The surprise is not that international markets grew but the rate at which they grew,â€