MEXICO CITY, July 20 (Reuters) – Mexico’s Coca-Cola Femsa (KOFL.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (KOF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the largest Coke bottler in Latin America, reported a 6 percent rise in second-quarter profit as higher sales offset rising costs of raw materials.

“Our performance was supported by volume growth across all our divisions and our ability to implement pricing initiatives over the past several months throughout our main markets,” Chief Executive Officer Carlos Salazar said in a statement.

The company, a joint venture between The Coca-Cola Co (KO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Mexico’s Femsa (FMSAUBD.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said the cost of goods increased 13.4 percent, mainly due to higher sweetener prices. This was partly offset by the appreciation of local currencies against the U.S. dollar-denominated raw material costs.

In a call with analysts, Coca-Cola Femsa Chief Financial Officer Hector Trevino said the company expects sweetener prices to be stable in the second half of the year.

The company is also working on recycling programs that will help reduce its exposure to higher packaging costs, he added.

Quarterly earnings rose to 2.629 billion pesos ($224.5 million) from 2.480 billion pesos a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of 2.62 billion pesos, according to a Reuters survey of five analysts. [ID:nN1E76E1HY]

Revenue rose 12.9 percent to 28.417 billion pesos from 25.176 billion pesos.