Coca-Cola

[CityFarmer]

Coca-Cola CEO Forgoes $2.5 Million Bonus as Profit Lags Target

(Mar 13): Coca-Cola Co. Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent declined to accept a $2.5 million bonus after the world’s largest beverage maker missed its profit target last year.

Kent was eligible for the pay but didn’t take it “in light of the difficult but necessary decisions required as the company implements strategic actions to accelerate growth,” Atlanta- based Coca-Cola said in a filing Thursday. “We remain confident that the strategic actions management is taking are laying the groundwork for sustainable growth in the years ahead.”

Coca-Cola has been grappling with sluggish international growth and mounting concerns in the U.S. that sugary beverages contribute to obesity. The company also has been defending itself against allegations by shareholder Wintergreen Advisers LLC that its employee compensation plan is excessive. The company reduced the potential payouts after Warren Buffett, its largest investor, also spoke out.

Coca-Cola’s earnings per share rose about 5 percent last year, excluding the effects of currency fluctuations. While that was short of the company’s long-term goal for growth at a high single-digit percentage rate, it was enough to qualify Kent for a bonus.
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/node/189321

[CityFarmer]

Coca-Cola is facing similar threat as MacDonald, upon a popularity of healthy diet lifestyle.

Most of my friends, have a very tight control on fast-food meal of their kids. I reckon most diet conscious parents will avoid Mac meal and Coke drink...

Coke a good snack?

NEW YORK — Coca-Cola is working with fitness and nutrition experts who suggest its soda as a treat — at a time when the world’s biggest beverage maker is being blamed for helping to fuel obesity rates.

Several experts wrote online posts for American Heart Month, with each including a mini can of Coke or soft drink as a snack idea. The pieces — which appeared on nutrition blogs and other sites, including those of major newspapers — offer a window into the many ways food companies work behind the scenes to cast their products in a positive light, often with the help of third parties who are seen as trusted authorities.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/daily-focus/h...good-snack

[sgd]

everything that we eat has sugar in one form or another or converts to it eventually. Fried chicken contains flour, I heard factory made fish balls, fish cake, fish crackers contains flour used for binding and also to add bulk.

those health conscious slimming conscious ladies avoid fatty or sugary hawker foods but queue up at bakery buy loads and loads and loads of bread what gives?

[thor666]

everything that we eat has sugar in one form or another or converts to it eventually. Fried chicken contains flour, I heard factory made fish balls, fish cake, fish crackers contains flour used for binding and also to add bulk.

those health conscious slimming conscious ladies avoid fatty or sugary hawker foods but queue up at bakery buy loads and loads and loads of bread what gives?

Hence, eat less bread and rice as well
Offtopic, but u can google on the harms of excessive sugar. Modern society food is much different from one generation ago.

Sent from my D5503 using Tapatalk

[sgd]

I get the feeling these ladies what they doing is buying eye candy, the same irresistible urge you can see if you throw these ladies into mall they will head straight for the shoe shop and spend hours there trying on every single pair they lay their eyes upon. They buying bread that look like nice shoes.

[CityFarmer]

A few data can be extracted from the deal.

China Culiangwang market cap is $230 million, and with NP is $31 million, and asset of $219 million. It gives the P/E of 7.4, and the P/B 1.05, which is cheap for an established F&B stock, IMO.

Coke agree to buy with $400.5 million, means P/E of 12.9, and P/B of 1.8

(not vested)

Coke to buy China multi-grain drinks maker for $400 million

HONG KONG - Coca-Cola Co has agreed to buy the beverage business of China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Ltd for $400.5 million including debt, to get a foothold in the fast growing multi-grain drinks category.

The deal marks Coke's first takeover in China since the country's antitrust regulator blocked its bid to buy local fruit juice maker Huiyuan in 2010.

Following the disposal of the beverage business, China Culiangwang will continue to develop its consumer products business, the company said in a stock exchange statement. The sale is subject approval from Chinese antitrust approvals.

Coke is paying a premium to China Culiangwang's market value of $230 million. The company's shares, which have more than doubled this year, were suspended ahead of the announcement. They will resume trading on Monday.

"The proposed acquisition is in line with Coca-Cola China's strategy to continue providing a diverse range of beverage products to Chinese consumers with plant-based protein drinks representing a growing beverage category in China," Coke said in a statement.

Established in 1998, China Culiangwang, manufactures red bean and green drinks and owns and sells "Cu Liang Wang" branded beverages and food products.

The beverage business earned a net profit after tax of 193 million yuan ($31 million) for the year to April 2014.

It had assets of HK$1.7 billion ($219 million) as of end October, 2014.

Standard Chartered acted as the exclusive financial advisory to China Culiangwang, the statement said. REUTERS
http://www.todayonline.com/business/coke...00-million

[greengiraffe]

AB InBev-SABMiller beer deal stymies Coke’s strategy

• MIKE ESTERL
  
• THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
  
• OCTOBER 16, 2015 12:00AM
  

[Image: 436774-85eef80c-72f0-11e5-87c5-82c509632f8f.jpg]
SABMiller is a key Coke bottler in Africa, while AB InBev bottles Pepsi beverages in Latin America.Source: Supplied
[b]Coca-Cola has a tough decision to make in the wake of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s planned $US104.2 billion ($141bn) takeover of rival brewer SABMiller.[/b]
SABMiller is a key Coke bottler in the soda giant’s recent consolidation efforts in Africa. But AB InBev, which would become SABMiller’s parent under the deal the two brewers struck this week, is a key PepsiCo soda bottler in Latin America.
Not only are Coca-Cola and PepsiCo global rivals, but Coke is frequently cited as one of the eventual takeover targets of the ever-acquisitive AB InBev. Coke chief executive Muhtar Kent himself has warned executives in recent years that 3G Capital Partners, whose founders are controlling shareholders in AB InBev, could, at some point, try to acquire Coke.
Coke, AB InBev and PepsiCo all declined to comment yesterday on how the planned beer merger could affect soft drink bottling and distribution pacts.
Atlanta-based Coke has change-of-control clauses that would allow it to buy back SABMiller’s soda bottling and distribution assets or sell them to someone else, according to people familiar with the matter.
Coke has put a lot of effort into its African bottling assets. Just last November, it struck a deal to combine bottling assets with SABMiller and privately held Gutsche Family Investments to create a joint venture spanning 12 African countries and about 40 per cent of Coke’s soft-drink ­volumes on the continent.
Meanwhile, Coke agreed in August to combine its German bottling unit with two bottling partners in Europe and is ramping up divestments in the US The efforts are part of an accelerated drive to divest plants, warehouses and trucks and consolidate distribution in response to slowing sales growth and missed profit targets so it doesn’t become a takeover candidate. “The dilemma for Coke is does it allow AB InBev into the tent?” said Carlos Laboy, a beverage analyst in New York at HSBC who thinks AB InBev could try to buy Coke outright in three or four years.
Coke’s share price has underperformed the broader S&P 500 index in recent years, but with a $US181bn market capitalisation, the company still ranks among the most valuable US publicly traded firms.
Coke’s soda bottling deal with SABMiller and Gutsche in Africa already has been delayed because the companies haven’t been able to secure regulatory clearance from the South African government. That could flag additional delay not only for Coke, but for the mega-beer deal as it gets scrutiny from South Africa’s finance ministry, antitrust authorities and labour unions.
Coke could try to sell SABMiller’s African bottling assets to another partner, but it is unclear to whom. The assets could fetch around $US3bn, according to some estimates. SABMiller also bottles Coke in El Salvador and Honduras and handles about 3 per cent of Coke’s global volume, according to Coke.
It wouldn’t be the first time that a brewer bottles and distributes Coke and Pepsi products in different countries. SABMiller is a Pepsi bottler in Panama. Carlsberg and Heineken distribute Coke in some markets and Pepsi in others, although not on the scale of SABMiller or AB InBev.
Ian Shackleton, a beverage analyst in London at Nomura, says Coke could rightly view AB InBev as a “Trojan Horse” after InBev struck a US distribution deal with Anheuser-Busch before acquiring the brewer in 2008 to create AB InBev.
But he also says Coke would be reluctant to unwind African bottling operations, which could cause a major disruption in a fast-growing region.
“It’s obviously not their ideal situation,” said Mr Shackleton, who also thinks AB InBev could try to acquire Coke in three or four years.

[CityFarmer]

The company recent revenue report.

Coca-Cola quarterly revenue misses on strong dollar

Coca-Cola Co reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue as a strong dollar reduced the value of sales in markets outside North America.

The company's sales in Asia-Pacific fell 11 percent in the third quarter, while sales in Latin America declined 14 percent. Sales in Europe fell 7 percent. The three markets account for a third of Coca-Cola's total revenue.

The dollar has risen about 12 percent against a basket of major currencies in the past year.

Coca-Cola's shares fell slightly to $42.10 in premarket trading on Wednesday.

Sales in North America, the company's biggest market, rose 1 percent, helped by higher pricing and its expanded distribution agreement with energy drink maker Monster Beverage Corp .

The net income attributable to shareholders fell to $1.45 billion, or 33 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 2 from $2.11 billion, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Coca-Cola earned 51 cents per share.

Net operating revenue fell nearly 5 percent to $11.43 billion.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 50 cents per share and revenue of $11.54 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. REUTERS
http://www.todayonline.com/business/coca...-5-percent

[dividendplanet]

I would really like to buy some shares in Coca Cola, but it almost never goes on sale. Last time I felt that it was cheap, was under the Financial Crisis. Right now it has a P/E of 27 and a forward P/E of 22. Should have bought some in January when oil was down at $26. Since then the market has rallied, and has become a bit too expensive.

What do you think, is Coca Cola expensive?

[cyclone]

Warren Buffett's Face Will Adorn Cans of Cherry Coke in China

by Nick Turner  and Jennifer Kaplan
April 4, 2017, 3:16 AM GMT+8

Warren Buffett’s face will appear on cans of Cherry Coke in China, an attempt by Coca-Cola Co. to capitalize on its biggest and most famous investor.

The company, which introduced Cherry Coke in the Asian nation on March 10, will offer the Buffett cans for a limited time while supplies last, according to its website. Coca-Cola cited Buffett’s renown in China, where investors have sought to copy his tactics.

Buffett’s investment firm, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., owns 9.3 percent of Coca-Cola -- a holding valued at about $17 billion. The 86-year-old has been a major shareholder in the beverage giant for more than a quarter-century and spent about $1.3 billion building the stake.

More details in https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...e-in-china