Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST) reported Q2 EPS of $0.59, $0.10 better than the analyst estimate of $0.49. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.09 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion.

Rodney C. Sacks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We remain pleased with our performance in the second quarter. EMEA sales were more impacted in the quarter, and especially so in our Strategic Brands, but overall, we are experiencing sequential improvements each month. Our supply chain remains intact, and we are continuing to service our customers.

“According to Nielsen, the energy drinks category continues to grow in many countries, including the United States.

“Now that certain countries and states are gradually reopening, our teams are working to ensure the implementation of our 2020 product innovation launches, which were disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have a robust innovation plan for the remainder of 2020.

“Internationally during the quarter, we added various Monster Energy® brand energy drinks, and Reign Total Body Fuel® high performance energy drinks to our portfolio in a number of countries. Monster Energy® Dragon Tea was launched in China in April 2020. We launched our affordable energy products, Fury® Gold Strike in Honduras and Predator® Gold Strike in Nigeria in the quarter.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all who have been impacted by this terrible virus and we wish them all a very speedy recovery,” Sacks added.

COVID-19 Pandemic

The Company’s top priority continues to be the health, safety and well-being of its employees. Early in March 2020, the Company implemented global travel restrictions and work-from-home policies for employees who are able to work remotely. For those employees who are unable to work remotely, safety precautions have been instituted, which were developed and adopted in line with guidance from public health authorities and professional consultants. The Company’s flavor manufacturing facilities, its co-packers, warehouses and shipment facilities, are all operating. Certain of the Company’s bottlers/distributors have implemented modifications to their call points and service levels, but generally the Company’s products remain available to consumers. In limited countries the operations of its bottlers/distributors have been more affected.

The Company’s second quarter net and gross sales were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in part due to certain of the Company’s bottlers/distributors reducing their inventory levels. However, the Company experienced a sequential improvement in sales in the latter half of the quarter as certain countries and states began to gradually re-open. Since mid-March 2020, the Company has seen a shift in consumer channel preferences and package configurations, including an increase in at-home consumption and a decrease in immediate consumption. The Company’s sales in the second quarter of 2020 were initially adversely affected as a result of a decrease in foot traffic in the convenience and gas channel (which is the Company’s largest channel) but improved sequentially throughout the quarter. The Company’s e-commerce, club store, mass merchandiser and grocery and related business continued to increase in the quarter while its food service on-premise business, which is a small channel for the Company, remained challenged.

Currently, the Company does not foresee a material impact on the ability of its co-packers to manufacture and its bottlers/distributors to distribute its products as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the Company is not experiencing raw material or finished product shortages in its supply chain.

As of June 30, 2020, the Company had $921.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, $250.8 million in short-term investments and $2.1 million in long-term investments. Based on currently available information, the Company does not expect the COVID-19 pandemic to have a material impact on its liquidity.

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