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Coca-Cola revenue misses Street view; shares slip
Posted : Tuesday, 12 February 2013 07:39AM

By Martinne Geller

(Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> reported fourth-quarter revenue slightly below analysts' expectations, hurt by a double-digit decline in Europe.

The world's largest soft drink maker, with brands such as Sprite, Fanta and Minute Maid, on Tuesday said revenue rose 4 percent to $11.46 billion. But analysts were expecting $11.53 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Worldwide sales volume rose 3 percent, but volume in Europe fell 5 percent. JPMorgan analyst John Faucher, for example, was expecting volume to rise 3.5 percent, with a decline of just 1 percent in Europe.

"There is still apprehension out there, certainly in Europe," Coca-Cola Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent said in an interview on CNBC.

Fourth-quarter net income was $1.87 billion, or 41 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, up from $1.66 billion, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding restructuring charges and other one-time items, earnings were 45 cents per share, topping analysts' average estimate by a penny.

Coca-Cola shares were down 4 cents at $38.57 in premarket trading.

(Reporting By Martinne Geller in New York; editing by John Wallace)

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