Coca-Cola earnings hit by strong dollar

Coca-Cola reported lower third-quarter earnings Wednesday in results dented by the strong dollar and lower soda volumes in the critical North American market.

Net income for the quarter ending October 2 was $1.4 billion, down 31.5 percent from the year-ago period that ended September 26.

Sales were $11.4 billion, down 4.6 percent from the 2014 quarter. The soda giant said it expects foreign currency to shave six percentage points from fourth-quarter revenues.

A two percent rise in global sparkling beverage volumes masked a difficult trend in Coca-Cola's home market of the US, where concerns about obesity and the health effects of artificial sweeteners have weighed on soda sales.

In North America, Coca-Cola reported a one percent decline in sparkling beverage volume sales. However, volumes of still beverages, including water and juices, rose seven percent.

North American revenues at $5.6 billion accounted for about half total revenues.

Sparkling beverage volumes rose in other regions, including Eurasia/Africa (+3.0 percent), Europe (+2.0 percent) and Asia Pacific (+3.0 percent).

Coca-Cola's earnings translated into 33 cents per share, which includes costs for refranchising and corporate reorganization.

Without these costs, earnings were 51 cents per share, better than the 50 cents projected by analysts.

Shares in Dow member Coca-Cola fell 0.9 percent to $41.92 in opening trade.