ATLANTA, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Coca-Cola Co. said it is comfortable with Wall Street's profit expectations for the coming year, but the world's largest soft drink company also said it will no longer provide earnings estimates because it distracts from focusing on long-term initiatives.
Coca-Cola, which earlier this week named the head of its Latin American operations, Steven J. Heyer, to fill its vacant president's post, also said nothing has changed in its earnings outlook for 2002.
The company said its long-term earnings per share growth objective for the next several years is 11 percent to 12 percent and unit case volume growth of 5 percent to 6 percent.
Coca-Cola said following a series of discussions with its board of directors over the past year, its management team has established a policy of not providing quarterly or annual earnings guidance.
Chairman and Chief Executive Douglas Daft, said, "We believe that establishing short-term guidance prevents a more meaningful focus on the strategic initiatives that a company is taking to build its business and succeed over the long-run."
The company will report its earnings on Feb. 12.
