Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE) (NYSE:CCE) saw its fourth quarter profits rise over five percent on Thursday, meeting analysts' estimates.
For the three months that ended December 31, the bottler of Coca-Cola products posted net income of $113 million, or $0.36 per share, up 16.5 percent from $97 million, or $0.28 per share, a year ago.
Revenues for the quarter rose six percent to $1.89 billion, from $1.79 billion in the same period last year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had estimated 36-cents per share in profits, on $1.9 billion in revenues.
The results for the latest quarter include operations in Norway and Sweden, and exclude the company’s North American bottling operation, which was divested to beverage giant Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter of 2010.
As a result, Coca-Cola Enterprises now includes its legacy European bottling operations and the bottling operations acquired from the Coca-Cola Company in Norway and Sweden.
CEO John F. Brock said: "2011 marks the sixth consecutive year of volume and profit growth in our legacy territories.
"While we continue to face ongoing marketplace and macroeconomic challenges, the results from our first full year of operating exclusively as a European bottler reinforce the confidence we have in the long-term potential of today’s Coca-Cola Enterprises."
Volumes increased three percent year-over-year during the fourth quarter. Net pricing per case hiked three percent, as did the cost of goods sold per case.
Gross margin edged down to 35.2 percent from 35.3 percent a year earlier.
CCE also implemented a new $1.0 billion share repurchase program, with a goal of buying back at least $500 million of its common stock during 2012.
"Throughout the year, we made consistent progress against key initiatives, including the integration of Norway and Sweden and the completion of our $1 billion share repurchase program," Brock continued.
"In 2012, we expect to deliver another year of growth as we continue to enhance our brand portfolio, improve the service we provide to our customers, and maximize the value of excellent marketplace opportunities, including the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which we are working to make the greenest ever."
Looking forward, CCE said it expects earnings to grow about ten percent in 2012, with revenues rising in the high single digit range.
For the full year fiscal 2011, the company posted net income of $749 million, or $2.29 per share, a 20 percent increase over 2010. Revenues hiked 23 percent to $8.28 billion.
In New York, shares of the Atlanta, Georgia-based company rose 1.68 percent to $27.91, as of 3:18 pm EDT.