clarinews@clarinet.com (02/02/90)
ATLANTA (UPI) -- Coca-Cola Enterprises, the bottling unit of the soft-drink company, said Thursday its earnings fell 95.6 percent to $2.4 million, or 2 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $54.6 million, or 40 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenues increased to $911.8 million from $895.2 in 1988. For the year ended Dec. 31, earnings fell 62.5 percent to $53.5 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with $142.7 million, or $1.03 a share, in 1988. Revenues remained equal at about $3.9 billion. Brian G. Dyson, president and chief executive officer of Coca-Cola Enterprises, said the company's volume in physical cases of beverage decreased about 1 percent for the full year and 2 percent for the fourth quarter, reflecting the effects of the sale of the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Mid-America during the final quarter of 1988. If the Mid-America sale had occurred at the start of 1988, volume would have risen about 4 percent in 1989 and 2 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to the same periods a year earlier, Dyson said. ``Although 1989 was a disappointing year in terms of financial results, we believe it will prove to be an important year in Coca-Cola Enterprises' development,'' Dyson said. ``We expect operating cash flow and earnings per common share to increase in 1990. While it is likely that cost of sales per case will rise moderately, we are optimistic that we can achieve continued improvement in net pricing together with volume growth to offset the higher level of costs.'' Coca-Cola Enterprises' tax rate for the year and final quarter increased to 48 percent from 43 percent in the last quarter of 1988, due primarily to lower earnings, Dyson said. The company repurchased about 6.3 million shares of common stock from shareholders and from the Coca-Cola Co. in the fourth quarter. The company's 25-million-share repurchase program is expected to be completed by the end of the year.