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Coke 1Q profit falls 13%
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April 21, 1999: 9:01 a.m. ET
Soft drink maker earns 30 cents a share vs. forecasts for 29 cents
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Coca-Cola Co. said Wednesday earnings fell 13 percent in the first quarter, hurt by sluggish sales at home and overseas, but posting results that were a penny ahead of forecasts on Wall Street.
The world's largest soft drink maker, which warned March 29 of lower sales because of weak demand in other countries, said that tough economic conditions overseas would hurt sales and earnings in the second quarter as well.
In the first quarter, unit shipments fell worldwide while growth slowed dramatically in the United States, where rising prices hurt results. Atlanta-based Coke said it expects business will start to improve in the second half of the year.
Coke said net income fell to $747 million, or 30 cents a diluted share, in the quarter, from $857 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had forecast a profit of 29 cents a share, according to First Call, which tracks earnings estimates.
Sales fell to $4.43 billion from $4.46 billion.
The number of cases shipped fell 1 percent worldwide and rose just 1.5 percent in North America, Coke said, compared with increases of 14 percent and 6 percent, respectively, a year earlier.
Shipments fell 4 percent in Latin America, were flat in the Middle East and Asia and declined 2 percent in Europe. Cases shipped fell 10 percent in Brazil and 13 percent in Chile, underscoring the weakness in key Latin American markets.
Coke stock, which sank after its sales warning, rose 5/16 to 65-1/4 Tuesday, about where it stood before the March 29 announcement. 
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Coca-Cola
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