Mixed News for the Coke Bear Family

The Image is from the February 2010 storm.

The Coke Bear family got ambiguous news today. The Coke Corporation announced a 19% increase in profit (09 1st quarter to 10 1st quarter). However, this was less than analysts expected.

Sales by volume of carbonated beverages were down, sales by volume of uncarbonated beverages were up because of sales overseas.

The article from Yahoo financial is here. Below is an excerpt:

Worldwide case volume rose 3 percent, with international case volume growing faster at 5 percent. The company has been courting international drinkers as their economies improve by pitching its drinks as an affordable luxury. In North America, shoppers cut back on such purchases in the recession.

Eurasia and Africa led international growth, with volume up 11 percent. India's volume grew 29 percent and Turkey's 18 percent.

Elsewhere, Brazil's volume gained 12 percent. The flagship Coca-Cola brand posted double-digit growth in Russia, Egypt, Brazil, India, Vietnam and the Philippines.

About three-fourths of Coca-Cola's revenue came from outside North America in the quarter. North America is the world's biggest soft drink market, but it has been weak as people shift to juices and teas.

Total case volume -- including soft drinks and juices -- fell 2 percent in the quarter. But soft drink volume declined 1 percent, less steep than previous quarters. The company credited its marketing campaigns for the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics.

Sales of uncarbonated drinks such as water, juices and teas fell 2 percent in North America. People have been switching to those drinks because of health concerns, but the company noted people are cutting back on these purchases because of the recession.

Uncarbonated drinks grew 8 percent worldwide, driven by a 12 percent increase outside North America.

Gate Savors the Weather Outside

Alligator doesn't like cold and snow and in the image he is pondering the deep snow of February 2010 (from the relative warmth of our Florida room- which is typically 10 to 20 Degrees warmer than the outside in the winter).

Of course not all creatures can be inside. Specifically in Florida there was apparently a big decrease in the python population. As much as 50% of the pythons died because of cold weather in Florida.

He is the word from the AP, through the WTOP.com site,

No pythons caught during Fla. hunting season

April 16, 2010 - 1:35pm

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - An unseasonably cold winter in Florida may have taken care of what python hunters could not.

Not a single python has been caught since the state started allowing hunters with special permits to track them on state-managed lands around the Everglades. The season started March 8 and ends Saturday.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says cold weather is believed to have killed up to 50 percent of the pythons....

(Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.).