Coca-Cola Enterprises Shares Up After Q1 Beat

He said he expects a "solid summer for U.S. bottlers" since they should benefit from pricing, productivity and volume growth in high-margin carbonated soft drinks.

Greenberg noted that the company's profits were better but wondered what was in store for the bottler, given rival PepsiCo Inc.'s move to buy its bottlers and consolidate those operations.

The decision, he said, "presents an able competitor with lower costs, and potentially a faster, more consumer-centric soft-drink business."

He said the quarter's results for Coca-Cola Enterprises don't "provide enough confidence that the Coke system is back on track," but he said the performance was notable since the company hasn't posted such a strong surprise in some time.

Coca-Cola Enterprises offered 2009 guidance above analyst expectations, but cautioned the year will be a challenging one. It expects earnings per share to range from $1.24 to $1.29, topping the average analyst estimate of $1.20 per share.

Greenberg boosted his earnings per share estimate for 2009 to $1.28 from $1.23 and Gajrawala raised his to $1.27 from $1.18.