Infrastructure

Home page

Infrastructure

Coca-Cola sees profit fall less than estimated

12 February 2009 16:24 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Coca-Cola Co., the worldâ€™s largest soft-drink maker, reported fourth-quarter profit that fell less than analysts estimated after lowering expenses through cutting jobs and adding technology to track sales.
The shares jumped 3 percent in early trading after Coca-Cola reported earnings of 64 cents a share, excluding a writedown tied to its distribution business. That beat the 61-cent average of analystsâ€™ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The volume of drinks sold globally rose 4 percent, the Atlanta-based company said today in a statement.
Coca-Cola cut costs across all areas of business to counter falling demand for soft drinks in North America, its largest market. The stronger dollar reduced operating profit by 9 percent in the quarter.
Net income dropped to $995 million, or 43 cents a share, from $1.21 billion, or 52 cents, a year earlier after Coca-Colaâ€™s largest distributor wrote down the value of its North American business. Revenue fell to $7.13 billion. Analysts predicted sales of $7.58 billion, on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.