Coca-Cola Co. 2Q profit drops 23 percent

[July 17, 2008]  ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) -- Coca-Cola Co. said Thursday its second-quarter profit fell 23 percent as it took a one-time charge related to its bottler.

The world's biggest beverage company earned $1.42 billion, or 61 cents per share, compared with $1.85 billion, or 80 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 17 percent to $9.05 billion from $7.73 billion a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, per-share earnings were $1.01. The quarter's earnings included a 40-cent-per-share non-cash charge related to bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 96 cents per share on revenue of $8.93 billion, on average.

The company's international business had 5 percent volume growth in the quarter.

[Associated Press]

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