Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated announced it earned $4.6 million, or basic net income per share of $.50, on net sales of $377.2 million for the first quarter of 2012, compared to net income of $5.9 million, or basic net income per share of $.64, on net sales of $359.6 million for the first quarter of 2011. The results for the first quarter of 2012 included a $0.7 million increase in income tax expense due to recording of valuation allowance for certain deferred tax assets. The results for the first quarter of 2011 included $0.4 million of after-tax losses ($0.7 million on a pre-tax basis) due to mark-to-market adjustments on fuel and aluminum hedges.
On a comparable basis, the company earned $5.5 million in the first quarter of 2012, or comparable basic net income per share of $.60, versus $6.4 million in the first quarter of 2011, or comparable basic net income per share of $.69.
J. Frank Harrison, III, chairman and CEO, said in a prepared statement, “We are pleased with our solid revenue growth in the first quarter which was driven by higher volume and increased pricing. We have an outstanding team that continues to find new and innovative ways to bring value to our customers and grow our business. We are also very pleased to see the trend from the prior year of positive share swing continue in the first quarter of 2012.”
William B. Elmore, president and COO, added, “Our first quarter results reflect strong revenue and gross margin growth with the value and drug channels leading the way. We continue to see positive results from new packaging including the 12.5-ounce bottle in the convenience channel and our 1.25-liter package. Lower than expected cost increases in certain raw material costs also helped drive gross margin growth for the quarter. The gross margin growth in the first quarter was generally offset by higher costs for labor and benefits as well as higher fuel costs for our delivery fleet. We have continued our focus on improving our supply chain to mitigate the cost increases we have seen in both raw material and operating costs.”
