MAM
Indian operations contribute to Coca Cola Q2 2003 growth
ATLANTA: The Coca-Cola Company reported second quarter (2Q 2003) earnings per share of $0.55, a 12 percent increase from the prior year second quarter earnings of $0.49 per share. The current quarter results include a reduction of $0.02 per share related to the previously announced streamlining initiatives. The worldwide unit case volume grew five per cent in the second quarter.
A press release says that strong results during the first six months were driven by growth in Australia, the Philippines, India and Thailand.
A medianet press release says that the results in the quarter were driven by two per cent carbonated soft drink growth and nearly 20 per cent growth in noncarbonated beverages. Year-to-date unit case growth reflects an increase of five per cent in international operations and three per cent in North America.
Coca Cola chairman and CEO Doug Daft was quoted as saying: “Given our emphasis on profitable growth and cash flow generation throughout our business, we are encouraged by the results we have generated in the current global operating environment.” The cash from operations for the first six months was $2.1 billion; compared to $2.2 billion in the prior year period. However, the release says that the company expects strong cash flows to continue in the future.
The release says that the company continues to concentrate on maximising value for customers and the entire Coca-Cola system based on a balanced approach to volume and pricing through the execution of brand, package and channel strategies on a country-by-country basis.
Highlights of Coca Cola’s Asian operations:
The unit case volume increased four per cent for the second quarter of 2003, cycling 14 per cent growth in the prior year second quarter. For the first six months, unit case volume increased six per cent, cycling 12 percent growth during the prior year period.
The release says that strong results during the first six months were driven by growth in Australia, the Philippines, India and Thailand. Core carbonated soft drinks continued to drive growth across Asia, particularly in single-serve packages, along with strong performance of local brands such as Thums Up, Qoo and Kinley.
Growth trends in the region during the second quarter were affected by the SARS virus in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The company estimates that SARS reduced the region’s unit case growth rate by approximately three percentage points during the quarter.
However, these trends did not significantly impact the profit for the group due to measures taken early in the quarter to redirect resources and postpone investments until consumer confidence returned.
In China, unit case volume declined approximately two percent during the second quarter, and increased nine percent during the first six months of the year. The company has seen encouraging signs that the worst impact on its business from the SARS virus is now over.
Further, the release states that the company remains focused on efficiency drivers and supply chain management projects that will generate additional resources for investments in growth-driving and brand-building initiatives.
AD Agencies
WPP Media elevates Dipti Gulati to vp, client growth for APMEA
Singapore-based executive to commercialise AI-powered solutions business across the region
SINGAPORE: WPP Media has promoted Dipti Gulati to vice president, client growth, handing her the mandate to lead the commercialisation of its solutions business across APMEA.
Based in Singapore, Gulati steps up after serving as senior director, client growth, where she drove expansion across APAC spanning programmatic, search, social, CTV, DOOH and cross-channel offerings. Now, she is tasked with translating advanced AI, data and technology ecosystems into scalable growth strategies for global brands across FMCG, luxury, F&B and financial services.
“I commercialise the future of media — at scale, across APMEA,” Gulati said, announcing her appointment. She added that she turns advanced data, AI and technology ecosystems into real commercial outcomes, shifting the conversation “from a pure media play to owning business outcomes”.
Her brief is unapologetically future-facing: addressable, accountable and AI-powered media. She will work with cross-market teams across APMEA, bringing together diverse perspectives and cultures to accelerate growth and build what she calls the “future of media”.
Gulati’s rise caps nearly two years at WPP Media and follows a six-month stint as regional director of growth, APAC, at Mindshare, where she led new business development and expanded capabilities for existing clients. Earlier, as global account director for integrated marketing communications on the Unilever business, she drove communications strategy for multi-million dollar beauty and wellbeing brands across Southeast Asia.
Before that, Gulati spent close to two years as associate director at Warner Bros. Discovery in Singapore. She also served as director, strategic partnerships and market development at TrustSphere, leading go-to-market and growth initiatives across Asia and evangelising relationship analytics to C-level executives. TrustSphere, credited by industry and Harvard Business School case studies as a pioneer in relationship analytics, became a springboard for her deeper engagement with data-driven growth.
Her board and evangelist roles at the Asia Cloud Computing Association and its Asia Analytics Alliance further sharpened her regional policy and analytics credentials. Earlier chapters include marketing consultancy at Blockchain Foundry and a seven-year run at Warner Bros. Discovery in India, where she led ad-sales and business development for HBO and WB across north and east India, delivering record billings. She began her career at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd and Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd..
From ad-sales floors in Delhi and Mumbai to boardrooms in Singapore, Gulati’s arc mirrors the industry’s own shift — from selling spots and slots to engineering outcomes through data and AI. At WPP Media, the brief is clear: scale smarter, move faster and turn algorithms into advantage.
