Coca-Cola Co Reports Good 2007 Earnings, but Its Share Price Descends on NYSE

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Although several American companies have reported record losses recently, including ones in the auto and financial sectors, the Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) reported on Wednesday morning a significant increase in its full-year 2007 earnings.

Specifically, the company’s earnings per share increased 19 percent from $2.16 in 2006 to $2.57 in 2007, the company said in its statement.

The company’s increased worldwide sales were fueled the rise in 2007 earnings, including 6 percent increase in unit case volume to 1.2 billion cases, a 4 percent increase in sparkling beverage unit case volume, and a 12 percent increase in still beverage unit case volume.

"This has been a year of significant accomplishment," said Coca-Cola CEO/Chairman Neville Isdell in the company’s statement.

"We have delivered strong business results and increased value to our shareowners by expanding our consumer appeal across our beverage brands and connecting in very meaningful ways with the communities we serve,” he added.

Still, the markets gave the company’s news the cold shoulder, sending its share price down from the previous close of $59.92 to $59.24 in late morning trading (11:56am ET).

NewsVisual decided to create an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map in order to illustrate the organizational connections of Coca-Cola’s Board of Directors.

The Knowledge Map shows that two of the company’s Directors have held high government posts:

Director Donald F McHenry is a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and a Distinguished Professor of Georgetown University, as well as a Director of the International Paper Co; Director Alexis M Herman is a former U.S. Secretary of Labor, as well as a Director of several companies, including New Ventures LLC, Cummins Inc, Entergy Inc, and MGM Mirage.

The Map also shows that the following Coca-Cola Directors currently serve as Directors of other large corporations:

Director Peter V Ueberroth also sits on the board of the Hilton Hotels Corp; Director James D Robinson III also serves on the board of the Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co; and Director Barry Diller is the CEO/Chairman of InterActiveCorp (IAC) and a Director of The Washington Post Co.

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Click here or copy this link into your Internet Explorer browser for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=b78ace5f-ddb9-4a47-8777-1169ed6d6b33