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Cadbury profits fizz in 1999
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February 16, 2000: 4:28 a.m. ET
U.S. sales sweeten earnings for British drinks and candy maker; shares climb
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LONDON (CNNfn) - British soft drinks and confectionery group Cadbury Schweppes on Wednesday posted a better-than-expected 9 percent rise in 1999 earnings as U.S. sales of its Seven-Up and Dr Pepper soda brands surged.
The company reported pretax profit rose to 686 million pounds ($1.09 billion) for the year ended Jan. 2 from 628 million pounds a year earlier. Sales climbed 4.7 percent to 4.3 billion pounds. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast earnings of between 665 million and 675 million pounds.
Cadbury Schweppes (CBRY) shares rose 4.2 percent to 336 pence in early London trade.
Cadbury Schweppes has refocused its business to focus on its global confectionery brands, selling most of its non-U.S. drinks brands to Coca-Cola last year for $1 billion, while boosting its U.S. business with the purchase of Dr Pepper. The latter deal boosted its share of the U.S. soft-drink market to 15.9 percent last year.
The U.S. drinks unit, which generated 90 percent of group beverage earnings, boasted sales growth of 6 percent in the final quarter, twice the market average. The performance compensated for a lack of growth at the confectionery unit over the course of the year, although the business expanded 3 percent in the second half of 1999 after a 3 percent drop in the year's first half. 
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Cadbury Schweppes
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