UPDATE 4-Coke Enterprises profit tops view; shares surge
* Q4 adj EPS 22 cents tops Wall St view by 3 cents
* Revenue down 1 pct; volume down 5 pct
* Affirms '09 EPS view for growth at mid-single-digit rate
* Shares up 10 percent (Adds details from conference call)
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (CCE.N) reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on better margins and affirmed its 2009 outlook, sending the bottler's shares up 10 percent.
The largest bottler of Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) drinks cited a modest improvement in North American profit trends, which probably benefited from price increases.
The company raised prices in September and was therefore able to offset a 9.5 percent increase in quarterly costs for raw materials, which include aluminum, corn and plastic.
Company executives said on a conference call that they had raised prices again in North America in the current quarter, as the bottler seeks to offset the impact of the strengthening U.S. dollar.
Coke Enterprises said the stronger dollar, which depresses the value of overseas sales, will now reduce 2009 earnings by 20 cents per share, up from its prior forecast for a 15-cent impact.
The company reported a net loss of $1.45 billion, or $2.99 per share, compared with a year-earlier net profit of $158 million, or 32 cents per share.
Excluding a $2.3 billion impairment charge for writing down the value of its North American franchise license, the bottler earned 22 cents per share. Analysts on average were expecting 19 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue fell 1 percent to $5.24 billion as an 8 percent increase in pricing did not completely offset a 5 percent decline in volume. Volume fell 7 percent in North America and rose 1.5 percent in Europe.
CONTROLLING COSTS
JPMorgan analyst John Faucher said operating profit fell 13 percent, which was better than both the 21 percent drop he had expected and the company's average decline of 22 percent over the first three quarters of the year.
Total company gross margin shrank by 0.7 percentage points, Faucher said, which was better than the 1.7 point contraction he had expected. Continued...
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