NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Coca-Cola told shareholders at its annual meeting Wednesday that the company had "looked at dozens of candidates" and could soon decide who takes the top job from current Chairman and CEO Douglas Daft, who is due to retire at the end of the year.

"There's been a kind of media frenzy about this matter. When you have a company with a name like Coca-Cola, it goes with the territory. Wall Street has its own views about this. In a very short period of time, we will present the best candidate to the board," Coca-Cola board member Don Keough told shareholders.

Keough didn't mention the names of candidates under consideration, but there's growing speculation that current Gillette CEO Jim Kilts is a front-runner for the job.

Coke's annual meeting was monitored via a Webcast from New York. Earlier Wednesday, Coke posted first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts on the back of strong performance especially in its international markets.

Ahead of the yearly event, some analysts had predicted that the meeting in Wilmington, Del., could be contentious given the various issues facing Coke's management, including some disgruntled high-profile investors lobbying for the removal of board members.

Indeed, the meeting got off to a raucous start Wednesday after one shareholder said he agreed with the decision by Calpers, the nation's largest pension fund, to withhold its votes for nine of Coke's board members, including billionaire investor Warren Buffett, because of the directors' conflicting business interests with Coke.

"Coca-Cola's system is rife with immorality and corruption. Coca-Cola is viewed as a pariah in this country," he yelled at the company's top executives before security officers forcibly removed the man from the meeting.

A few other shareholders complained about how the man was treated, prompting Daft to admit, "We shouldn't have done that. Democracy is the right of giving everyone the right to speak. That's what we should be doing now."

Despite the opposition by Calpers, all of Coke's directors were re-elected Wednesday to serve another one-year term until 2005. Shareholders also rejected a proposal to split the role of chairman and CEO.

Several shareholders also raised questions about alleged human rights violations at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia and India. Daft addressed those concerns, saying the company has conducted independent investigations and concluded that the allegations were false.

There was a poignant moment at the start of the meeting when Daft asked shareholders for a moment of silence in recognition of Jim Cantalupo, the former McDonald's CEO who died of an apparent heart attack Monday.

"Jim was a friend and his wisdom, insight and humor will be missed by all of us," Daft said.

Coke began its search for a new chief in February.

The obvious assumption, at least among analysts, was that president and chief operating officer Steve Heyer would make a smooth transition into the top job. But the scenario took a different turn when Coke instead hired an executive search firm to find a suitable candidate for the slot.

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Morgan Stanley analyst Bill Pecoriello wrote in a research report Monday that Gillette CEO Jim Kilts could be favored for the post.

"Kilts has one of the best track records in the entire consumer products sector, having led Gillette, Nabisco and Kraft. We believe his appointment will be viewed favorably by investors," Pecoriello wrote.

Another point in Kilts' favor is his strong ties with Buffett, who is a large shareholder of both Coke and Gillette (G: Research, Estimates), analysts said.

Even though Coke is still the leader, the company's share of the $63 billion U.S. soft-drink market fell by 0.3 percentage point to 44 percent in 2003, according to Beverage Digest.

Purchase, N.Y.- based PepsiCo's, the No. 2 soft-drink maker, grew its U.S. market share 0.4 percentage point to 31.8 percent.

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Industry observers say innovation of beverage products is really a key driver of sales for both companies. Coke said Monday it would debut "C2" -- a new low-carb cola -- this summer ahead of Pepsi's summer launch of its new "Pepsi Edge" low-carb version.

The soft drink market, however, is experiencing sluggish sales for the fourth consecutive year. "There's a noticeable shift away from carbonated drink consumption and toward bottled water and health drinks," said Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang. "The real concern is what is Coke doing to address this trend and take advantage of it. Pepsi has done much better than Coke both in the bottled water and health drinks categories."

Atlanta-based Coke said it earned $1.1 billion, or 46 cents a share, in the first quarter, up from $835 million or 37 cents a share, excluding special items a year earlier. The result was at the high end of analysts' forecasts, according to First Call, which had an average estimate of 43 cents a share.

Revenue rose 13 percent to $5.1 billion, topping the average forecast of $4.9 billion.

"Coca-Cola today is a very strong company," Daft said at the meeting. "This is the first time in our history that we've had net income over $1 billion in the first quarter. We've reinvested in the core brand, marketing and advertising. We've succeeded in revitalizing a business that had lost momentum."  

-- analysts quoted in the story do not personally own shares of the Coca-Cola and their firms do not have an investment banking relationship with the company.