Coca-Cola's Q4 earns rise to $1.27B
Adjusted net tops Wall St. view; sees $2B buyback in '05
By Michael Baron, MarketWatch
Last Update: 7:53 AM ET Feb. 16, 2005
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Coca-Cola Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings that rose roughly 30 percent from year-ago levels amid positive currency trends and a lower tax rate.
But Neville Isdell, the company's chairman and CEO, wasn't overly impressed.
"We are not satisfied with our performance in 2004," he said in a statement. "By most measures, we did not perform to our potential or the expectations of our shareowners."
Coke posted a profit of $1.2 billion, or 50 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, up from its year-ago profit of $927 million, or 38 cents per share.
Net operating revenue rose 2 percent in the latest three months to $5.26 billion from $5.18 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Excluding items, the Atlanta-based soft drink giant (KO: news, chart, profile) earned 46 cents per share in the latest quarter.
The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 40 cents per share on revenue of $5.19 billion in the December period.
The Dow component said its earnings in the latest quarter got a lift of 3 cents per share from positive currency fluctuations and 3 cents per share from a lower than expected tax rate.
The higher revenue reflects a 2 percent increase in gallon sales, improved pricing of concentrate and the positive currency trends.
Unit case volume rose 2 percent as a strong international performance in markets like China, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, South Africa, Russia and Turkey offset declines in North America and Germany. On a reported basis, however, unit case volume fell 3 percent in the quarter, reflecting a decrease in the number of shipping days in the prior year.
The company also said it's mulling the repatriation of overseas earnings in 2005, estimating the maximum amount that could be repatriated would be $6.1 billion, and that it plans to increase its buyback activity to at least $2 billion in 2005.
The stock closed Tuesday at $42.65, down 21
Adjusted net tops Wall St. view; sees $2B buyback in '05
By Michael Baron, MarketWatch
Last Update: 7:53 AM ET Feb. 16, 2005
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Coca-Cola Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings that rose roughly 30 percent from year-ago levels amid positive currency trends and a lower tax rate.
But Neville Isdell, the company's chairman and CEO, wasn't overly impressed.
"We are not satisfied with our performance in 2004," he said in a statement. "By most measures, we did not perform to our potential or the expectations of our shareowners."
Coke posted a profit of $1.2 billion, or 50 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, up from its year-ago profit of $927 million, or 38 cents per share.
Net operating revenue rose 2 percent in the latest three months to $5.26 billion from $5.18 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Excluding items, the Atlanta-based soft drink giant (KO: news, chart, profile) earned 46 cents per share in the latest quarter.
The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 40 cents per share on revenue of $5.19 billion in the December period.
The Dow component said its earnings in the latest quarter got a lift of 3 cents per share from positive currency fluctuations and 3 cents per share from a lower than expected tax rate.
The higher revenue reflects a 2 percent increase in gallon sales, improved pricing of concentrate and the positive currency trends.
Unit case volume rose 2 percent as a strong international performance in markets like China, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, South Africa, Russia and Turkey offset declines in North America and Germany. On a reported basis, however, unit case volume fell 3 percent in the quarter, reflecting a decrease in the number of shipping days in the prior year.
The company also said it's mulling the repatriation of overseas earnings in 2005, estimating the maximum amount that could be repatriated would be $6.1 billion, and that it plans to increase its buyback activity to at least $2 billion in 2005.
The stock closed Tuesday at $42.65, down 21
