Coca Cola 4Q Profit - It's The Real Thing
The Coca-Cola Co. bucked the trend that many companies have been following these days and actually turned a profit. Of course the company's profits were down 18% from the year earlier period, but these days that's like hitting a home run.
Although they probably didn't dance in the streets, analysts were probably still ecstatic that Coca Cola's earnings exceeded their estimates. That's as rare as lunar eclipse these days on Wall Street.
Foreign expansion pushes revenue growth
One area where KO excelled was in growing foreign markets. The company say double digit sales growth in China, Eastern Europe, and India.
The company earned $995 million, which translated to 43 cents per share, in the quarter that ended December 31st 2008. This was down from $1.21 billion, or 52 cents per share, in the 2007 period.
"Our performance in the fourth quarter was very solid," said CEO Muhtar Kent in a statement.
Overall revenue was lower at $7.13 billion from $7.33 billion a year ago. This represented a 3% decline in sales.
The real money's in water
Coca-Cola has done an excellent job in recent years marketing water. H20 is a big hit with consumers, and adds to the bottom line. But water wasn't the only product that sold well.
Overall unit case volume grew 4 percent during the quarter, and Coca-Cola, the flagship product, managed a 2% gain. Even in troubled times, people still wanted their coke.
The company has recently opened the World of Coca Cola in Atlanta to showcase company history.
Coca-Cola is still the real thing when it comes to business.
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