Coke Enterprises Warns

Soft North American sales and a competitive pricing environment are hitting Coca-Cola Enterprises(CCE Quote) hard.

The company, which sells about 74% of Coca-Cola's(KO Quote) bottle and can volume in North America, warned that it expects a first-quarter loss in the range of 19 cents to 21 cents a share when it reports its financial results April 19. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call currently expect a loss of only 8 cents a share.

The company said it anticipates first-quarter total volume growth of about 1.5%. North American volume is expected to be flat compared to the prior year, and volume growth in Europe is expected to come in about 6%. Coca-Cola Enterprises is the sole licensed bottler for the soft drink maker in Belgium, France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco and the Netherlands.

"The first quarter proved especially challenging as North American volume growth in the second half of the quarter was offset by a decline in January," John R. Alm, president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. "We remain committed to our long-term strategy of improving returns in the take-home channels of our business, but the pace of this improvement in 2001 may be constrained by continued price-based competitive initiatives.

He said marketing initiatives and new product introductions help speed North American volume growth for the rest of the year. "However, our ability to deliver our full-year profit objectives will not be clear until we enter our peak selling months, but it is unlikely that we will be able to offset the lower financial results of the first quarter."