UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
| ý | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 |
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OR |
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TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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For the transition period from to |
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Commission File No. 1-2217
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
| DELAWARE (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
58-0628465 (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
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One Coca-Cola Plaza Atlanta, Georgia (Address of principal executive offices) |
30313 (Zip Code) |
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Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (404) 676-2121 |
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: |
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Title of each class |
Name of each exchange on which registered |
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| COMMON STOCK, $0.25 PAR VALUE | NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý No o
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ý No o
The aggregate market value of the common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant (assuming for these purposes, but without conceding, that all executive officers and Directors are "affiliates" of the Registrant) as of June 30, 2004, was $105,498,951,553 (based on the closing sale price of the Registrant's Common Stock on that date as reported on the New York Stock Exchange).
The number of shares outstanding of the Registrant's Common Stock as of February 28, 2005 was 2,410,089,440.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the Company's Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Shareowners to be held on April 19, 2005, are incorporated by reference in Part III.
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| Part I | ||||
Item 1. |
Business |
1 |
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| Item 2. | Properties | 13 | ||
| Item 3. | Legal Proceedings | 13 | ||
| Item 4. | Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders | 17 | ||
| Item X. | Executive Officers of the Company | 17 | ||
Part II |
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Item 5. |
Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities |
20 |
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| Item 6. | Selected Financial Data | 22 | ||
| Item 7. | Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | 24 | ||
| Item 7A. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk | 59 | ||
| Item 8. | Financial Statements and Supplementary Data | 60 | ||
| Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure | 121 | ||
| Item 9A. | Controls and Procedures | 121 | ||
| Item 9B. | Other Information | 121 | ||
Part III |
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Item 10. |
Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant |
122 |
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| Item 11. | Executive Compensation | 122 | ||
| Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters | 122 | ||
| Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions | 122 | ||
| Item 14. | Principal Accountant Fees and Services | 122 | ||
Part IV |
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Item 15. |
Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules |
123 |
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Signatures |
129 |
The Coca-Cola Company is the largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups in the world. Finished beverage products bearing our trademarks, sold in the United States since 1886, are now sold in more than 200 countries and include the leading soft drink products in most of these countries. In this report, the terms "Company," "we," "us" or "our" mean The Coca-Cola Company and all subsidiaries included in our consolidated financial statements.
Our business is nonalcoholic beveragesprincipally carbonated soft drinks, but also a variety of noncarbonated beverages. We manufacture beverage concentrates and syrups as well as some finished beverages, which we sell to bottling and canning operations, distributors, fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers. We also produce, market and distribute juices and juice drinks and certain water products. In addition, we have ownership interests in numerous bottling and canning operations.
We were incorporated in September 1919 under the laws of the State of Delaware, and succeeded to the business of a Georgia corporation with the same name that had been organized in 1892.
Our Company is one of numerous competitors in the commercial beverages market. Of the approximately 50 billion beverage servings of all types consumed worldwide every day, beverages bearing trademarks owned by or licensed to us (hereinafter referred to as "our trademarks") account for approximately 1.3 billion.
We believe that our success depends on our ability to connect with consumers by providing them a wide variety of choices to meet their desires, needs and lifestyle choices. It further depends on the ability of our people to execute effectively, every day.
Our goal is to use our Company's assetsour brands, financial strength, unrivaled distribution system and the strong commitment of management and employeesto become more competitive and to accelerate growth in a manner that creates value for our shareowners. Our Company has identified certain principal short-term areas of focus designed to accelerate growth:
The Company's operating structure includes the following operating segments, the first five of which are sometimes referred to as strategic business units:
This structure is the basis for our Company's internal financial reporting. The North America operating segment includes the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. During the first quarter of 2002, the Egypt Region
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was reclassified from the Europe, Eurasia and Middle East operating segment to the Africa operating segment. During 2004, certain departments were reclassified from the North America operating segment to the Corporate operating segment.
At the date of this report, the heads of the strategic business units are as follows: Donald R. Knauss (North America), Alexander B. Cummings, Jr. (Africa), Mary E. Minnick (Asia), A.R.C. "Sandy" Allan (Europe, Eurasia and Middle East) and José Octavio Reyes (Latin America). See "Item X.Executive Officers of the Company." The heads of the strategic business units report to E. Neville Isdell, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
Except to the extent that differences between operating segments are material to an understanding of our business taken as a whole, the description of our business in this report is presented on a consolidated basis.
In the following table, prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. Unless we indicate otherwise, all references in this report to "$" mean U.S. dollars. Information about our Company's operations for the years ended December 31, 2004, 2003 and 2002, by operating segment, is as follows (in millions, except percentages):
| North America |
Africa |
Asia |
Europe, Eurasia and Middle East |
Latin America |
Corporate |
Consolidated |
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| Net operating revenues | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | $ 6,643 | $ 1,067 | $ 4,691 | $ 7,195 | $ 2,123 | $ 243 | $ 21,962 | |||||||||
| 2003 | 6,344 | 827 | 5,052 | 6,556 | 2,042 | 223 | 21,044 | |||||||||
| 2002 | 6,264 | 684 | 5,054 | 5,262 | 2,089 | 211 | 19,564 | |||||||||
Operating income |
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| 2004 | $ 1,606 | $ 340 | $ 1,758 | $ 1,898 | $ 1,069 | $ (973 | ) | $ 5,698 | ||||||||
| 2003 | 1,282 | 249 | 1,690 | 1,908 | 970 | (878 | ) | 5,221 | ||||||||
| 2002 | 1,531 | 224 | 1,820 | 1,612 | 1,033 | (762 | ) | 5,458 | ||||||||
Income before income taxes and cumulative effect of accounting change |
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| 2004 | $ 1,629 | $ 337 | $ 1,841 | $ 1,916 | $ 1,270 | $ (771 | ) | $ 6,222 | ||||||||
| 2003 | 1,326 | 249 | 1,740 | 1,921 | 975 | (716 | ) | 5,495 | ||||||||
| 2002 | 1,552 | 187 | 1,848 | 1,540 | 1,081 | (709 | ) | 5,499 | ||||||||
Unit case volume growth rate (2004 vs. 2003) |
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3 |
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5 |
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0 |
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3 |
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2 |
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For additional financial information about our operating segments and geographic areas, refer to Notes 1 and 19 to the consolidated financial statements set forth in Part II, Item 8 of this report, incorporated herein by reference.
Our Company manufactures and sells beverage concentrates (sometimes referred to as beverage bases) and syrups, including fountain syrups. We also manufacture and sell some finished beverages, both carbonated and noncarbonated, including certain juice and juice-drink products and water products.
As used in this report:
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We sell the concentrates and syrups for bottled and canned beverages to authorized bottling and canning operations. In addition to concentrates and syrups for soft drink products and flavored noncarbonated beverages, we also sell concentrates for purified water products such as Dasani to authorized bottling operations.
Authorized bottlers or canners either combine our syrup with carbonated water or combine our concentrate with sweetener (depending on the product), water and carbonated water to produce finished soft drinks. The finished soft drinks are packaged in authorized containers bearing our trademarkssuch as cans, refillable and non-refillable glass and plastic bottles ("bottle/can products")and are then sold to retailers ("bottle/can retailers") or, in some cases, wholesalers.
For our fountain products in the United States, we manufacture fountain syrups and sell them to authorized fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers. For fountain retailers that have multiple outlets such as quick serve restaurants, often called "chain" accounts, we typically sell fountain syrups to the chain retailers directly, with fountain wholesalers or bottlers delivering and billing on our behalf for a fee. For fountain retailers that are not part of a chain, the retailers typically purchase fountain syrups from fountain wholesalers (including certain bottlers) that purchase the syrups from our Company. These wholesalers are authorized to sell the Company's fountain syrups by a nonexclusive appointment from us that neither restricts us in setting the prices at which we sell fountain syrups to the wholesaler, nor restricts the territory in which the wholesaler may resell in the United States. Outside the United States, fountain syrups typically are manufactured by authorized bottlers from concentrates sold to them by the Company. The bottlers then typically sell the fountain syrups to wholesalers or directly to fountain retailers.
Finished beverages manufactured by us include a variety of carbonated and noncarbonated beverages. Most of these finished beverages and certain water products are sold by us to authorized bottlers or distributors, who in turn sell these products to retailers or, in some cases, wholesalers. Both directly and through a network of business partners, including certain Coca-Cola bottlers, Company-manufactured juice and juice-drink products and certain water products are sold by us to retailers and wholesalers in the United States and numerous other countries.
The Company's beverage products include bottled and canned beverages produced by independent and Company-owned bottling and canning operations, as well as concentrates, syrups and some not-ready-to-drink powder products. Our beverage products include Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Classic, caffeine free Coca-Cola, caffeine free Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke (sold under the trademark Coca-Cola Light in many countries other than the United States), caffeine free Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Lemon, Coca-Cola with Lime, Diet Coke with Lime, Vanilla Coke, Diet Vanilla Coke, Cherry Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, Coca-Cola C2, Fanta brand soft drinks, Sprite, Diet Sprite Zero/Sprite Zero (sold under the trademark Sprite Light in many countries other than the United States), Sprite Remix, Pibb Xtra, Mello Yello, TAB, Fresca, Barq's root beer and other flavors, Citra, POWERade, Minute Maid flavors, Aquarius, Sokenbicha, Ciel, Bonaqa, Bonaqua, Dasani, Lift, Thums Up, Kinley, Pop, Eight O'Clock, Qoo, Full Throttle, other products developed for specific countries (including
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Georgia brand ready-to-drink coffees) and numerous other brands. In many countries (excluding the United States, among others), our Company's beverage products also include Schweppes, Canada Dry, Dr Pepper and Crush. Our Company produces, distributes and markets juice and juice-drink products including Minute Maid juices and juice drinks, Simply Orange orange juice, Odwalla super premium juices and drinks, Five Alive refreshment beverages, Bacardi tropical fruit mixers (manufactured and marketed under a license from Bacardi & Company Limited) and Hi-C ready-to-serve fruit drinks. Beverage Partners Worldwide, the Company's 50 percent-owned joint venture with Nestlé S.A., markets ready-to-drink teas and coffees in certain countries. Our Company is the exclusive master distributor of Evian bottled water in the United States and Canada. In addition, CCDA Waters, L.L.C. ("CCDA"), a 51 percent-owned consolidated subsidiary, manufactures and markets Dannon, Sparkletts and other water brands in the United States under a license from Group Danone.
Consumer demand determines the optimal menu of Company product offerings. Consumer demand can vary from one locale to another and can change over time within a single locale. Employing our business strategy, and with special focus on core brands, our Company seeks to build its existing brands and, at the same time, to broaden its historical family of brands, products and services in order to create and satisfy consumer demand locale by locale.
Our Company introduced a variety of new brands, brand extensions and products in 2004. Among numerous examples, we introduced Diet Coke with Lime in Australia, New Zealand and North America and Coca-Cola C2 in Japan and North America. In China, we launched Sprite Icy Mint. In Germany, we launched Fanta Citrell, the first mid-calorie soft drink available throughout that country. In Finland and Sweden, we repositioned Fanta Light as Fanta Free. In Mexico, we launched Fanta Naranja Chamoy, a unique beverage featuring the taste of a popular Mexican sweet chili. And in New Zealand, we introduced Aqua Shot, a new active water with a refreshing shot of fruit flavor and a boost of essential vitamins. In addition, we extended the rebranding of Diet Sprite to Diet Sprite Zero/Sprite Zero, which began in Greece in 2002, to now include a total of 23 countries, including the United States.
During 2004, we acquired ownership or license rights for a number of brands, including the Bistra brand in Croatia, the Cepita brand in Argentina, the Joya brand in Mexico and the Nada brand in Bahrain.
Our Company measures sales volume in two ways: (1) gallons and (2) unit cases of finished products. "Gallons" is a unit of measurement for concentrates (sometimes referred to as beverage bases), syrups, finished beverages and powders (in all cases, expressed in equivalent gallons of syrup) for all beverage products which are reportable as unit case volume. Most of our revenues are based on this measure of primarily "wholesale" activity. We also measure volume in unit cases. As used in this report, "unit case" means a unit of measurement equal to 192 U.S. fluid ounces of finished beverage (24 eight-ounce servings); and "unit case volume" of the Company means the number of unit cases (or unit case equivalents) of Company trademark or licensed beverage products directly or indirectly sold by the Coca-Cola bottling system or by the Company to customers. Unit case volume primarily consists of beverage products bearing Company trademarks. Also included in unit case volume are certain products licensed to our Company, or brands owned by Coca-Cola system bottlers for which our Company provides marketing support and from which it derives income from the sales. Such products licensed to our Company or owned by Coca-Cola system bottlers account for a minimal portion of total unit case volume. Although most of our Company's revenues are not based directly on unit case volume, we believe unit case volume is one of the measures of the underlying strength of the Coca-Cola system because it measures trends at the consumer level. The unit case volume numbers used in this report are based on estimates received by the Company from its bottling partners and distributors. Gallon sales and unit case volume are not necessarily equal during any given period. Items such as seasonality, bottlers' inventory practices, supply point changes, timing of price increases and new product introductions can create differences between gallon sales and unit case volume.
In 2004, concentrates and syrups for beverages bearing the trademark "Coca-Cola" or including the trademark "Coke" accounted for approximately 56 percent of the Company's total gallon sales.
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In 2004, gallon sales in the United States ("U.S. gallon sales") represented approximately 28 percent of the Company's worldwide gallon sales. Approximately 59 percent of U.S. gallon sales for 2004 was attributable to sales of beverage concentrates and syrups to 79 authorized bottler ownership groups in 393 licensed territories. Those bottlers prepare and sell finished beverages bearing our trademarks for the food store and vending machine distribution channels and for other distribution channels supplying products for home and immediate consumption. Approximately 33 percent of 2004 U.S. gallon sales was attributable to fountain syrups sold to fountain retailers and to 525 authorized fountain wholesalers, some of which are authorized bottlers. The remaining approximately 8 percent of 2004 U.S. gallon sales was attributable to sales by the Company of finished beverages, including juice and juice-drink products and certain water products. Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., including its bottling subsidiaries and divisions ("CCE"), accounted for approximately 52 percent of the Company's U.S. gallon sales in 2004. At December 31, 2004, our Company held an ownership interest of approximately 36 percent in CCE, which is the world's largest bottler of Company Trademark Beverages.
In 2004, gallon sales outside the United States represented approximately 72 percent of the Company's worldwide gallon sales. The countries outside the United States in which our gallon sales were the largest in 2004 were Mexico, Brazil, Japan and China, which together accounted for approximately 26 percent of our worldwide gallon sales. Approximately 91 percent of non-U.S. unit case volume for 2004 was attributable to sales of beverage concentrates and syrups to authorized bottlers in 544 licensed territories, together with sales by the Company of finished beverages other than juice and juice-drink products. Approximately 6 percent of 2004 non-U.S. unit case volume was attributable to fountain syrups. The remaining approximately 3 percent of 2004 non-U.S. unit case volume was attributable to juice and juice-drink products.
In addition to conducting our own independent advertising and marketing activities, we may provide promotional and marketing services and/or funds and consultation to our bottlers. In most cases, we do this on a discretionary basis under the terms of commitment letters or agreements, even though we are not obligated to do so under the terms of the bottling or distribution agreements between our Company and the bottlers. Also, on a discretionary basis in most cases, the Company may develop and introduce new products, packages and equipment to assist its bottlers. Likewise, in many instances we provide promotional and marketing services and/or funds and/or dispensing equipment and repair services to fountain and bottle/can retailers, typically pursuant to marketing agreements. The aggregate amount of funds provided by our Company to bottlers, resellers, vendors or customers of our Company's products, principally for participation in sales promotion programs and volume-based incentives, was approximately $3.6 billion in 2004.
Bottler's Agreements and Distribution Agreements
Separate contracts ("Bottler's Agreements") exist between our Company and each of our bottling partners regarding the manufacture and sale of soft drinks. Subject to specified terms and conditions and certain variations, the Bottler's Agreements generally authorize the bottlers to prepare particularly specified Company Trademark Beverages, to package the same in particular authorized containers, and to distribute and sell the same in (but, subject to applicable local law, generally only in) an identified territory. The bottler is obligated to purchase its entire requirement of concentrates or syrups for the designated Company Trademark Beverages from the Company or Company-authorized suppliers. We typically agree to refrain from selling or distributing or from authorizing third parties to sell or distribute the designated Company Trademark Beverages throughout the identified territory in the particular authorized containers; however, we typically reserve for ourselves or our designee the right (1) to prepare and package such beverages in such containers in the territory for sale outside the territory and (2) to prepare, package, distribute and sell such beverages in the territory in any other manner or form. Territorial restrictions on bottlers vary in some cases in accordance with local law.
The Bottler's Agreements between us and our authorized bottlers in the United States differ in certain respects from those in the other countries in which Company Trademark Beverages are sold. As further discussed below, the principal differences involve the duration of the agreements; the inclusion or exclusion of canned beverage production rights; the inclusion or exclusion of authorizations to manufacture and distribute
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fountain syrups; in some cases, the degree of flexibility on the part of the Company to determine the pricing of syrups and concentrates; and the extent, if any, of the Company's obligation to provide marketing support.
Outside the United States. The Bottler's Agreements between us and our authorized bottlers outside the United States generally are of stated duration, subject in some cases to possible extensions or renewals of the term of the contract. Generally, these contracts are subject to termination by the Company following the occurrence of certain designated events. These events include defined events of default and certain changes in ownership or control of the bottler.
In certain parts of the world outside the United States, we have not granted comprehensive beverage production rights to the bottlers. In such instances, we or our authorized suppliers sell Company Trademark Beverages to the bottlers for sale and distribution throughout the designated territory, often on a nonexclusive basis. A majority of the Bottler's Agreements in force between us and bottlers outside the United States authorize the bottlers to manufacture and distribute fountain syrups, usually on a nonexclusive basis.
Our Company generally has complete flexibility to determine the price and other terms of sale of the concentrates and syrups we sell to bottlers outside the United States. In some instances, however, we have agreed or may in the future agree with the bottler with respect to concentrate pricing on a prospective basis for specified time periods. Outside the United States, in most cases, we have no obligation to provide marketing support to the bottlers. Nevertheless, we may, at our discretion, contribute toward bottler expenditures for advertising and marketing. We may also elect to undertake independent or cooperative advertising and marketing activities.
Within the United States. In the United States, with certain very limited exceptions, the Bottler's Agreements for Coca-Cola and other cola-flavored beverages have no stated expiration date. Our standard contracts for other soft drink flavors and for noncarbonated beverages are of stated duration, subject to bottler renewal rights. The Bottler's Agreements in the United States are subject to termination by the Company for nonperformance or upon the occurrence of certain defined events of default that may vary from contract to contract. The "1987 Contract," described below, is terminable by the Company upon the occurrence of certain events including:
Under the terms of the Bottler's Agreements, bottlers in the United States are authorized to manufacture and distribute Company Trademark Beverages in bottles and cans. However, these bottlers generally are not authorized to manufacture fountain syrups. Rather, as described above, our Company manufactures and sells fountain syrups to authorized fountain wholesalers (including certain authorized bottlers) and some fountain retailers. These wholesalers in turn sell the syrups or deliver them on our behalf to restaurants and other retailers.
In the United States, the form of Bottler's Agreement for cola-flavored soft drinks that covers the largest amount of U.S. volume (the "1987 Contract") gives us complete flexibility to determine the price and other terms of sale of soft drink concentrates and syrups for cola-flavored Company Trademark Beverages ("Coca-Cola Trademark Beverages") and other Company Trademark Beverages. In some instances, we have agreed or may in the future agree with the bottler with respect to concentrate pricing on a prospective basis for specified time periods. Bottlers operating under the 1987 Contract accounted for approximately 89 percent of our Company's total U.S. gallon sales for bottled and canned beverages, excluding direct sales by the Company of juice and juice-drink products and other finished beverages ("U.S. bottle/can gallon sales") in 2004. Certain
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other forms of U.S. Bottler's Agreements, entered into prior to 1987, provide for soft drink concentrates or syrups for certain Coca-Cola Trademark Beverages to be priced pursuant to a stated formula. The oldest such form of contract, applicable to bottlers accounting for approximately 1 percent of U.S. bottle/can gallon sales in 2004, provides for a fixed price for Coca-Cola syrup used in bottles and cans. This price is subject to quarterly adjustments to reflect changes in the quoted price of sugar. Bottlers accounting for the remaining approximately 10 percent of U.S. bottle/can gallon sales in 2004 have contracts for certain Coca-Cola Trademark Beverages with pricing formulas that generally provide for a baseline price. This baseline price may be adjusted periodically by the Company, up to a maximum indexed ceiling price, and is adjusted quarterly based upon changes in certain sugar or sweetener prices, as applicable.
We have standard contracts with bottlers in the United States for the sale of concentrates and syrups for non-cola-flavored soft drinks and certain noncarbonated beverages in bottles and cans; and in certain cases for the sale of finished noncarbonated beverages in bottles and cans. All of these standard contracts give the Company complete flexibility to determine the price and other terms of sale.
Under the 1987 Contract and most of our other standard soft drink and noncarbonated beverage contracts with bottlers in the United States, our Company has no obligation to participate with bottlers in expenditures for advertising and marketing. Nevertheless, at our discretion we may contribute toward such expenditures and undertake independent or cooperative advertising and marketing activities. Some U.S. Bottler's Agreements that predate the 1987 Contract impose certain marketing obligations on us with respect to certain Company Trademark Beverages.
The Company's ability to exercise its contractual flexibility to determine the price and other terms of sale of its syrups, concentrates and finished beverages under various agreements described above is subject, both outside and within the United States, to competitive market conditions.
Significant Equity Investments and Company Bottling Operations
Our Company maintains business relationships with three types of bottlers:
In 2004, independently owned bottling operations produced and distributed approximately 25 percent of our worldwide unit case volume. We have equity positions in 48 unconsolidated bottling, canning and distribution operations for our products worldwide. These cost or equity method investees produced and distributed approximately 58 percent of our worldwide unit case volume in 2004. Controlled and consolidated bottling operations produced and distributed approximately 7 percent of our worldwide unit case volume in 2004. The remaining approximately 10 percent of our worldwide unit case volume in 2004 was produced and distributed by our fountain operations plus our juice, juice drink, sports drink and other finished beverage operations.
We make equity investments in selected bottling operations with the intention of maximizing the strength and efficiency of the Coca-Cola system's production, distribution and marketing systems around the world. These investments are intended to result in increases in unit case volume, net revenues and profits at the bottler level, which in turn generate increased gallon sales for our Company's concentrate business. When this occurs, both we and our bottling partners benefit from long-term growth in volume, improved cash flows and increased shareowner value.
The level of our investment generally depends on the bottler's capital structure and its available resources at the time of the investment. Historically, in certain situations, we have viewed it as advantageous to acquire a controlling interest in a bottling operation, often on a temporary basis. Owning such a controlling interest has allowed us to compensate for limited local resources and has enabled us to help focus the bottler's sales and
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marketing programs and assist in the development of the bottler's business and information systems and the establishment of appropriate capital structures.
In line with our long-term bottling strategy, we may periodically consider options for reducing our ownership interest in a bottler. One such option is to combine our bottling interests with the bottling interests of others to form strategic business alliances. Another option is to sell our interest in a bottling operation to one of our equity investee bottlers. In both of these situations, our Company continues to participate in the bottler's results of operations through our share of the equity investee's earnings or losses.
In cases where our investments in bottlers represent noncontrolling interests, our intention is to provide expertise and resources to strengthen those businesses.
Significant investees that we account for by the equity method include the following:
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. Our ownership interest in CCE was approximately 36 percent at December 31, 2004. CCE is the world's largest bottler of the Company's beverage products. In 2004, sales of concentrates, syrups and finished products by the Company to CCE were approximately $5.2 billion. CCE estimates that the territories in which it markets beverage products to retailers (which include portions of 46 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, continental France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and Monaco) contain approximately 79 percent of the United States population, 98 percent of the population of Canada, and 100 percent of the populations of Great Britain, continental France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and Monaco.
Excluding products in fountain form, in 2004, approximately 63 percent of the unit case volume of CCE was Coca-Cola Trademark Beverages, 31 percent of its unit case volume was other Company Trademark Beverages and 6 percent of its unit case volume was beverage products of other companies. CCE's net operating revenues were approximately $18.2 billion in 2004.
Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A. de C.V. ("Coca-Cola FEMSA"). Our ownership interest in Coca-Cola FEMSA was approximately 40 percent at December 31, 2004. Coca-Cola FEMSA is a Mexican holding company with bottling subsidiaries in a substantial part of central Mexico, including Mexico City and southeastern Mexico; greater São Paulo, Campinas, Santos, the state of Matto Grosso do Sul and part of the state of Goias in Brazil; central Guatemala; most of Colombia; all of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela; and greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. Coca-Cola FEMSA estimates that the territories in which it markets beverage products contain approximately 46 percent of the population of Mexico, 15 percent of the population of Brazil, 98 percent of the population of Colombia, 38 percent of the population of Guatemala, 100 percent of the populations of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela and 30 percent of the population of Argentina.
In 2004, Coca-Cola FEMSA's net sales of beverage products were approximately $4.0 billion. In 2004, approximately 61 percent of the unit case volume of Coca-Cola FEMSA was Coca-Cola Trademark Beverages, 31 percent of its unit case volume was other Company Trademark Beverages and 8 percent of its unit case volume was beverage products of Coca-Cola FEMSA or other companies.
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. ("Coca-Cola HBC"). At December 31, 2004, our ownership interest in Coca-Cola HBC was approximately 24 percent. Coca-Cola HBC has bottling and distribution rights, through direct ownership or joint ventures, in Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Ukraine. Coca-Cola HBC estimates that the territories in which it markets beverage products contain approximately 67 percent of the population of Italy and 100 percent of the populations of the other countries named above in which Coca-Cola HBC has bottling and distribution rights.
In 2004, Coca-Cola HBC's net sales of beverage products were approximately $5.2 billion. In 2004, approximately 48 percent of the unit case volume of Coca-Cola HBC was Coca-Cola Trademark Beverages,
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approximately 45 percent of its unit case volume was other Company Trademark Beverages and approximately 7 percent of its unit case volume was beverage products of Coca-Cola HBC or other companies.
Coca-Cola Amatil Limited ("Coca-Cola Amatil"). At December 31, 2004, our Company's ownership interest in Coca-Cola Amatil was approximately 34 percent. Coca-Cola Amatil has bottling and distribution rights, through direct ownership or joint ventures, in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and South Korea. Coca-Cola Amatil estimates that the territories in which it markets beverage products contain approximately 100 percent of the populations of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, South Korea and Papua New Guinea, and 98 percent of the population of Indonesia.
In 2004, Coca-Cola Amatil's net sales of beverage products were approximately $2.6 billion. In 2004, approximately 54 percent of the unit case volume of Coca-Cola Amatil was Coca-Cola Trademark Beverages, approximately 38 percent of its unit case volume was other Company Trademark Beverages, approximately 8 percent of its unit case volume was beverage products of Coca-Cola Amatil and less than 1 percent of its unit case volume was beverage products of other companies.
Other Interests. We own a 50 percent interest in a joint venture with Nestlé S.A. ("Nestlé") and certain of its subsidiaries that is focused upon the ready-to-drink tea and coffee businesses. The joint venture, known as Beverage Partners Worldwide ("BPW"), currently has sales in the United States and 59 other countries. BPW serves as the exclusive vehicle through which our Company and Nestlé participate in the ready-to-drink tea and coffee businesses, except in Japan. BPW markets ready-to-drink tea products primarily under the Nestea, Belté, Yang Guang, Nagomi, Heaven and Earth, Funchum, Frestea, Ten Ren and Tian Tey trademarks, and ready-to-drink coffee products primarily under the Nescafé, Taster's Choice and Georgia Club trademarks.
In July 2002, our Company and Danone Waters of North America, Inc. ("DWNA") formed a new company, CCDA, for the production, marketing and distribution of DWNA's bottled spring and source water business in the United States. In forming CCDA, DWNA contributed assets including five production facilities, a license for the use of the Dannon and Sparkletts brands, and ownership of several value brands. Our Company made a cash payment to acquire a controlling 51 percent equity interest in CCDA and is also providing marketing, distribution and management expertise. The results of CCDA's operations have been included in our Company's consolidated financial statements since July 2002. The Company is in discussions with Group Danone regarding a possible restructuring of the CCDA relationship.
Seasonality
Sales of our ready-to-drink nonalcoholic beverages are somewhat seasonal, with the second and third calendar quarters accounting for the highest sales volumes in the Northern Hemisphere. The volume of sales in the beverages business may be affected by weather conditions.
Competition
Our Company competes in the nonalcoholic beverages segment of the commercial beverages industry. Based on internally available data and a variety of industry sources, we believe that, in 2004, worldwide sales of Company products, comprised approximately 10 percent of total worldwide sales of nonalcoholic beverage products. The nonalcoholic beverages segment of the commercial beverages industry is highly competitive, consisting of numerous firms. These include firms that, like our Company, compete in multiple geographical areas as well as firms that are primarily local in operation. Competitive products include carbonated soft drinks, packaged water, juices and nectars, fruit drinks and dilutables (including syrups and powdered drinks), sports and energy drinks, coffee and tea, still drinks and other beverages. Nonalcoholic beverages are sold to consumers in both ready-to-drink and not-ready-to-drink form. In many of the countries in which we do business, including the United States, PepsiCo, Inc. is a primary competitor of ours. Other significant competitors include Nestlé S.A., Cadbury Schweppes plc, Groupe Danone and Kraft Foods Inc.
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Most of our beverages business currently is in soft drinks, as that term is defined in this report. The soft-drink business, which is part of the nonalcoholic beverages segment, is itself highly competitive, and soft drinks face significant competition from other nonalcoholic beverages. Our Company is the leading seller of soft-drink concentrates and syrups in the world. Numerous firms, however, compete in that business. These consist of a range of firms, from local to international, that compete against our Company in numerous geographical areas.
Competitive factors with respect to our business include pricing, advertising, sales promotion programs, product innovation, increased efficiency in production techniques, the introduction of new packaging, new vending and dispensing equipment, and brand and trademark development and protection.
Positive aspects of our competitive position include strong brands with a high level of consumer acceptance, a worldwide network of bottlers and distributors of Company products, sophisticated marketing capabilities and a talented group of dedicated employees. Negative aspects of our competitive position include strong competition in all geographical regions, and, in many countries, a concentrated retail sector with powerful buyers able to freely choose between Company products, products of competitive beverage suppliers and individual retailers' own store-brand beverages.
Raw Materials
The principal raw materials used by our business are nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners. In the United States, the principal nutritive sweetener is high-fructose corn syrup, a form of sugar, that is available from numerous domestic sources and is historically subject to fluctuations in its market price. The principal nutritive sweetener used by our business outside the United States is sucrose, another form of sugar, that is also available from numerous sources and is historically subject to fluctuations in its market price. Our Company generally has not experienced any difficulties in obtaining its requirements for sweeteners. In the United States we purchase our requirements of high-fructose corn syrup with the assistance of Coca-Cola Bottlers' Sales & Services Company LLC ("CCBSS"). CCBSS is a limited liability company that is owned by authorized Coca-Cola bottlers doing business in the United States. Among other things, CCBSS provides procurement services to our Company for the purchase of various goods and services in the United States, including high-fructose corn syrup.
Generally, raw materials utilized by us in our business are readily available from numerous sources. However, aspartame, an important non-nutritive sweetener that is used alone or in combination with other important non-nutritive sweeteners such as saccharin or acesulfame potassium in our low-calorie soft-drink products, is currently purchased by us primarily from The NutraSweet Company, Holland Sweetener Company and Ajinomoto Co., Inc., which we consider to be our only viable sources for the supply of this product. Acesulfame potassium is currently purchased from Nutrinova Nutrition Specialties & Food Ingredients GmbH, which we consider to be our only viable source for the supply of this product. Our Company generally has not experienced any difficulties in obtaining its requirements for sweeteners.
Our Company sells a number of products sweetened with sucralose, a noncaloric sweetener, and we plan on offering our customers a larger number of new products with sucralose in 2005. We work closely with Tate & Lyle, our sucralose supplier, to maintain continuity of supply. Although Tate & Lyle is our single source for sucralose, we do not anticipate difficulties in obtaining our requirements for sucralose.
With regard to juice and juice-drink products, the citrus industry is subject to the variability of weather conditions. This includes in particular the possibility of freezes in central Florida, which may result in higher prices and, therefore, lower consumer demand for orange juice throughout the industry. Due to our ability to source orange juice concentrate from the Southern Hemisphere (particularly from Brazil), the supply of juice available that meets the Company's standards is normally adequate to meet demand.
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Patents, Copyrights, Trade Secrets and Trademarks
Our Company owns numerous patents, copyrights and trade secrets, as well as substantial know-how and technology, which we collectively refer to in this report as "technology." This technology generally relates to our Company's products and the processes for their production; the packages used for our products; the design and operation of various processes and equipment used in our business; and certain quality assurance and financial software. Some of the technology is licensed to suppliers and other parties. Our soft-drink and other beverage formulae are among the important trade secrets of the Company.
We own numerous trademarks that are very important to our business. Depending upon the jurisdiction, trademarks are valid as long as they are in use and/or their registrations are properly maintained and they have not been found to have become generic. Registrations of trademarks can generally be renewed indefinitely as long as the trademarks are in use. The majority of our Company's trademark license agreements are included in the Company's Bottler's Agreements. The Company has registered and licenses the right to use its trademarks in conjunction with certain merchandise in addition to nonalcoholic beverages.
Governmental Regulation
Our Company is required to comply, and it is our policy to comply, with applicable laws in the numerous countries throughout the world in which we do business. In many jurisdictions, compliance with competition laws is of special importance to us, and our operations may come under special scrutiny by competition law authorities due to our competitive position in those jurisdictions.
The production, distribution and sale in the United States of many of the Company's products are subject to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act; the Occupational Safety and Health Act; the Lanham Act; various environmental statutes; and various other federal, state and local statutes and regulations applicable to the production, transportation, sale, safety, advertising, labeling and ingredients of such products. Outside the United States, the production, distribution and sales of our many products are also subject to numerous statutes and regulations.
A California law requires that a specific warning appear on any product that contains a component listed by the state as having been found to cause cancer or birth defects. The law exposes all food and beverage producers to the possibility of having to provide warnings on their products. This is because the law recognizes no generally applicable quantitative thresholds below which a warning is not required. Consequently, even trace amounts of listed components can expose affected products to the prospect of warning labels. Products containing listed substances that occur naturally or that are contributed to such products solely by a municipal water supply are generally exempt from the warning requirement. No Company beverage products are currently required to display warnings under this law. However, we are unable to predict whether a component found in a Company product might be added to the California list in the future. Furthermore, we are also unable to predict when or whether the increasing sensitivity of detection methodology that may become applicable under this law and related regulations as they currently exist, or as may be amended, might result in the detection of an infinitesimal quantity of a listed substance in a Company product.
Bottlers of our beverage products presently offer non-refillable, recyclable containers in the United States and various other markets around the world. Some of these bottlers also offer refillable containers, which are also recyclable. Legal requirements have been enacted in jurisdictions in the United States and overseas requiring that deposits or certain ecotaxes or fees be charged for the sale, marketing and use of certain non-refillable beverage containers. The precise requirements imposed by these measures vary. Other beverage container-related deposit, recycling, ecotax and/or product stewardship proposals have been introduced in various jurisdictions in the United States and overseas. We anticipate that similar legislation or regulations may be proposed in the future at local, state and federal levels, both in the United States and elsewhere.
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All of our Company's facilities in the United States and elsewhere around the world are subject to various environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with these provisions has not had, and we do not expect such compliance to have, any material adverse effect on our Company's capital expenditures, net income or competitive position.
Employees
As of December 31, 2004, our Company employed approximately 50,000 persons, compared to approximately 49,000 at the end of 2003. The increase in the number of employees was primarily due to the consolidation of variable interest entities, mainly in Africa, offset by the decrease due to the deconsolidation of certain bottling operations. At the end of 2004, approximately 9,600 Company employees were located in the United States.
Our Company, through its divisions and subsidiaries, has entered into numerous collective bargaining agreements. We currently expect that we will be able to renegotiate any such agreements on satisfactory terms, if and when necessary. The Company believes that its relations with its employees are generally satisfactory.
Securities Exchange Act Reports
The Company maintains an Internet website at the following address: www.coca-cola.com. The information on the Company's website is not incorporated by reference in this annual report on Form 10-K.
We make available on or through our website certain reports and amendments to those reports that we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). These include our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K. We make this information available on our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with, or furnish it to, the SEC.
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Our worldwide headquarters is located on a 35-acre office complex in Atlanta, Georgia. The complex includes the approximately 621,000 square foot headquarters building, the approximately 870,000 square foot Coca-Cola North America building and the approximately 264,000 square foot Coca-Cola Plaza building. The complex also includes several other buildings, including the technical and engineering facilities, the learning center and the reception center. Our Company leases approximately 250,000 square feet of office space at 10 Glenlake Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia, which we currently sublease to third parties. In addition, we lease approximately 174,000 square feet of office space at Northridge Business Park, Dunwoody, Georgia. The North America operating segment owns and occupies an office building located in Houston, Texas that contains approximately 330,000 square feet. The Company has facilities for administrative operations, manufacturing, processing, packaging, packing, storage and warehousing throughout the United States.
As of December 31, 2004, our Company owned and operated 33 principal beverage concentrate and/or syrup manufacturing plants located throughout the world. In addition, we own, hold a majority interest in or otherwise consolidate under applicable accounting rules 36 operations with 83 principal beverage bottling and canning plants located outside the United States. CCDA owns four production facilities and leases one production facility in the United States.
Our North America operating segment operates 9 noncarbonated beverage production facilities, in addition to the CCDA facilities, located throughout the United States and Canada. It also utilizes a system of contract packers to produce and/or distribute certain products where appropriate. In addition, the Company owns a facility that manufactures juice concentrates for foodservice use.
We own or lease additional real estate, including a Company-owned office and retail building at 711 Fifth Avenue in New York, New York and approximately 315,000 square feet of Company-owned office and technical space in Brussels, Belgium. Additional owned or leased real estate located throughout the world is used by the Company as office space; for bottling operations, warehouse or retail operations; or, in the case of some owned property, is leased to others.
Management believes that our Company's facilities for the production of our products are suitable and adequate, that they are being appropriately utilized in line with past experience and that they have sufficient production capacity for their present intended purposes. The extent of utilization of such facilities varies based upon seasonal demand for our products. It is not possible to measure with any degree of certainty or uniformity the productive capacity and extent of utilization of these facilities. However, management believes that additional production can be obtained at the existing facilities by adding personnel and capital equipment and, at some facilities, by adding shifts of personnel or expanding the facilities. We continuously review our anticipated requirements for facilities and, on the basis of that review, may from time to time acquire additional facilities and/or dispose of existing facilities.
On October 27, 2000, a class action lawsuit (Carpenters Health & Welfare Fund of Philadelphia & Vicinity v. The Coca-Cola Company, et al.) was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia alleging that the Company, M. Douglas Ivester, Jack L. Stahl and James E. Chestnut violated antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws by making misrepresentations or material omissions relating to the Company's financial condition and prospects in late 1999 and early 2000. A second, largely identical lawsuit (Gaetan LaValla v. The Coca-Cola Company, et al.) was filed in the same court on November 9, 2000. The complaints allege that the Company and the individual named officers: (1) forced certain Coca-Cola system bottlers to accept "excessive, unwanted and unneeded" sales of concentrate during the third and fourth quarters of 1999, thus creating a misleading sense of improvement in our Company's performance in those quarters; (2) failed to write down the value of impaired assets in Russia, Japan and elsewhere on a timely basis, again resulting in the presentation of misleading interim financial results in the third and fourth quarters of 1999; and
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(3) misrepresented the reasons for Mr. Ivester's departure from the Company and then misleadingly reassured the financial community that there would be no changes in the Company's core business strategy or financial outlook following that departure. Damages in an unspecified amount are sought in both complaints.
On January 8, 2001, an order was entered by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia consolidating the two cases for all purposes. The Court also ordered the plaintiffs to file a Consolidated Amended Complaint. On July 25, 2001, the plaintiffs filed a Consolidated Amended Complaint, which largely repeated the allegations made in the original complaints and added Douglas N. Daft as an additional defendant.
On September 25, 2001, the defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss all counts of the Consolidated Amended Complaint. On August 20, 2002, the Court granted in part and denied in part the defendants' Motion to Dismiss. The Court also granted the plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to Amend the Complaint. On September 4, 2002, the defendants filed a Motion for Partial Reconsideration of the Court's August 20, 2002 ruling. The motion was denied by the Court on April 15, 2003.
On June 2, 2003, the plaintiffs filed an Amended Consolidated Complaint. The defendants moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint on June 30, 2003. On March 31, 2004, the Court granted in part and denied in part the defendants' Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint. In its order, the Court dismissed a number of the plaintiffs' allegations, including the claim that the Company made knowingly false statements to financial analysts. The Court permitted the remainder of the allegations to proceed to discovery. The Court denied plaintiffs' request for leave to further amend and replead their complaint. The lawsuit is now in the discovery phase.
The Company believes it has substantial legal and factual defenses to the plaintiffs' claims.
On December 20, 2002, the Company filed a lawsuit (The Coca-Cola Company v. Aqua-Chem, Inc., Civil Action No. 2002CV631-50) in the Superior Court, Fulton County, Georgia (the "Georgia Case") seeking a declaratory judgment that the Company has no obligation to its former subsidiary, Aqua-Chem, Inc. ("Aqua-Chem"), for any past, present or future liabilities or expenses in connection with any claims or lawsuits against Aqua-Chem. Subsequent to the Company's filing but on the same day, Aqua-Chem filed a lawsuit (Aqua-Chem, Inc. v. The Coca-Cola Company, Civil Action No. 02CV012179) in the Circuit Court, Civil Division of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (the "Wisconsin Case"). In the Wisconsin Case, Aqua-Chem seeks a declaratory judgment that the Company is responsible for all liabilities and expenses not covered by insurance in connection with certain of Aqua-Chem's general and product liability claims arising from occurrences prior to the Company's sale of Aqua-Chem in 1981, and a judgment for breach of contract in an amount exceeding $9 million for defense costs, expenses and settlements incurred by Aqua-Chem to date in connection with such claims.
The Company owned Aqua-Chem from 1970 to 1981. During that time, the Company purchased over $400 million of insurance coverage of which $350 million is still available to cover Aqua-Chem for certain product liability and other claims. Cleaver Brooks, a division of Aqua-Chem, manufactured boilers, some of which contained asbestos gaskets. The Company sold Aqua-Chem to Lyonnaise American Holding, Inc. in 1981 under the terms of a stock sale agreement. Following a lawsuit involving a tax dispute, the Company entered into a settlement agreement in 1983 with Lyonnaise American Holding, Inc. and Aqua-Chem. The 1981 and 1983 agreements, among other things, outlined the parties' rights and obligations concerning past and future claims and lawsuits involving Aqua-Chem.
Aqua-Chem was first named as a defendant in asbestos lawsuits in or around 1985 and, to date, has more than 100,000 claims pending against it. In October 2002, Aqua-Chem asserted that since 1985 it had incurred approximately $10 million in expenses related to these claims that were not covered by insurance. Aqua-Chem demanded that the Company reimburse these expenses pursuant to its interpretation of the terms of the 1981 and 1983 agreements. It also demanded that the Company acknowledge its continuing obligations to Aqua-Chem under these agreements for any future liabilities and expenses that are excluded from coverage under the applicable insurance or for which there is no insurance. The Company disputes Aqua-Chem's
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interpretation of the agreements and believes it has no past, present or future obligation to Aqua-Chem in this regard. This led to the filing of the Georgia Case.
The Wisconsin Case initially was stayed, pending final resolution of the Georgia Case, and later was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice by Aqua-Chem. The parties have agreed to stay the Georgia Case pending the outcome of new insurance coverage litigation filed by certain Aqua-Chem insurers, described in the following paragraph. The Company believes it has substantial legal and factual defenses to Aqua-Chem's claims.
On March 26, 2004, five plaintiff insurance companies filed an action (Century Indemnity Company, et al. v. Aqua-Chem, Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, et al., Case No. 04CV002852) in the Circuit Court, Civil Division of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin against our Company, Aqua-Chem and 16 insurance companies. Several of the policies that are the subject of this action were issued to the Company during the period (1970 to 1981) when our Company owned Aqua-Chem. The complaint seeks a determination of the respective rights and obligations under the insurance policies issued by the insurance companies with regard to asbestos-related claims against Aqua-Chem. The five plaintiffs issued insurance policies with aggregate remaining limits of coverage of approximately $145 million. The action also seeks a monetary judgment reimbursing any amounts paid by the plaintiffs in excess of their obligations. Aqua-Chem and the Company have reached an agreement in principle to settle with five of the insurers in the Wisconsin insurance coverage litigation, and those insurers will pay funds into an escrow account for payment of costs arising from the asbestos claims against Aqua-Chem. Aqua-Chem and the Company will continue to litigate their claims for coverage against the 16 other insurers that are parties to the Wisconsin insurance coverage case. The Company believes that there are substantial legal and factual arguments supporting the position that the insurance policies at issue provide coverage for the asbestos-related claims against Aqua-Chem, and both the Company and Aqua-Chem have asserted these arguments in response to the complaint.
Since 1999, the Competition Directorate of the European Commission (the "Commission") has been conducting an investigation of various commercial and market practices of the Company and its bottlers in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Great Britain. On October 19, 2004, our Company and certain of our bottlers submitted a formal Undertaking to the Commission, and the Commission accepted the Undertaking. The Undertaking will potentially apply in 27 countries and in all channels of distribution where our carbonated soft drinks account for over 40 percent of national sales and twice the nearest competitor's share. It will take more than 12 months to fully implement the Undertaking and for the market to react to any resulting changes. The commitments we made in the Undertaking relate broadly to exclusivity, percentage-based purchasing commitments, transparency, target rebates, tying, assortment or range commitments, and agreements concerning products of other suppliers. The Undertaking will also apply to shelf space commitments in agreements with take-home customers and to financing and availability agreements in the on-premise channel. In addition, the Undertaking includes commitments that will be applicable to commercial arrangements concerning the installation and use of technical equipment (such as coolers, fountain equipment and vending machines). The commitments set forth in the Undertaking have been published for third-party comments. Following the comment period, the Commission presented to the Company certain comments it had received from third parties, as well as certain additional comments from the Commission's legal staff. The Company is in the process of addressing these comments with the Commission. The Company anticipates that the formal Undertaking will form the basis of a Commission decision pursuant to Article 9, paragraph 1 of Council Regulation 1/2003 to be issued in the second quarter of 2005, bringing an end to the investigation. The submission of the Undertaking does not imply any recognition on the Company's or the bottlers' part of any infringement of Commission competition rules. We believe that the Undertaking, while imposing restrictions, clarifies the application of competition rules to our practices in Europe and will allow our system to be able to compete vigorously while adhering to the Undertaking's provisions.
The Company is also discussing with the Commission issues relating to parallel trade within the European Union arising out of comments received by the Commission from third parties. The Company is fully cooperating with the Commission and is providing information on these issues and the measures taken and to be
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taken to address any issues raised. The Company is unable to predict at this time with any reasonable degree of certainty what action, if any, the Commission will take with respect to these issues.
The Spanish competition service made unannounced visits to our offices and those of certain bottlers in Spain in 2000. In December 2003, the Spanish competition service suspended its investigation until the Commission notifies the service of how the Commission will proceed in its aforementioned investigation.
The French competition directorate has also initiated an inquiry into commercial practices related to the soft drink sector in France. This inquiry has been conducted through visits to the offices of the Company; however, no conclusions have been communicated to the Company by the directorate.
By letter dated June 10, 2003, the Company was informed that the SEC had commenced an informal, nonpublic inquiry into whether the Company or certain persons associated with the Company violated federal securities laws in connection with the allegations in two lawsuits filed by Matthew Whitley, a former employee, in May 2003. In his lawsuits, which were settled in October 2003, Mr. Whitley alleged, among other things, that he was terminated in retaliation for reporting to senior management certain accounting and other improprieties. Mr. Whitley's lawsuits alleged, among other things, the improper manipulation of a marketing test for frozen Coke products conducted by one of the Company's customers, improper accounting treatment in connection with the purchase of certain fountain dispensing equipment and marketing allowances, and false or misleading statements or omissions in connection with the reporting of sales volume. On January 14, 2004, the Company received an order from the SEC, making its inquiry a formal investigation. The Company has provided substantial documentation and other information in response to document subpoenas and informal requests received from the SEC. The SEC has also taken deposition testimony and/or interviewed numerous current and former Company employees. The Company is continuing to cooperate with the SEC.
On July 11, 2003, the Company announced that the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia had commenced a criminal investigation of the allegations raised by Mr. Whitley. In connection with that investigation, the Company has received a number of Grand Jury subpoenas as well as additional informal requests for documents and materials relating to the issues under investigation and, numerous current and former employees have provided testimony before the Grand Jury or have been interviewed. The Company is cooperating with the investigation and has provided substantial documentation and information to the United States Attorney's Office. The Company is continuing to cooperate with the United States Attorney's Office.
On June 18, 2004, Michael Hall filed what is purported to be a shareholder derivative suit on behalf of the Company, in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia. The defendants in this action are the current members of the Company's Board of Directors (other than E. Neville Isdell and Donald R. Keough), and former Company officers Douglas N. Daft and Steven J. Heyer. The Company is also named as a nominal defendant. The complaint alleges, among other things, that in connection with certain alleged Company accounting and business practices that were originally the subject of litigation brought by former employee Matthew Whitley in 2003, approvals of executive compensation and severance packages, and dealings between the Company and entities with which the defendants are affiliated, the defendants breached their fiduciary duties to the Company through gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets, abuse of their positions of authority within the Company, and by unjustly enriching themselves.
The plaintiff, on behalf of the Company, seeks declaratory relief; a monetary judgment requiring the defendants to pay the Company unspecified amounts by which the Company allegedly has been damaged by reason of the conduct complained of; an award to the plaintiff of the costs and disbursements incurred in connection with the action, including reasonable attorneys' and experts' fees; extraordinary equitable and/or injunctive relief; and such other further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.
The Company intends to take appropriate action to protect its interests in connection with this matter.
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The Company is involved in various other legal proceedings. Management of the Company believes that any liability to the Company that may arise as a result of these proceedings, including the proceedings specifically discussed above, will not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole.
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
Not applicable.
ITEM X. EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY
The following are the executive officers of our Company as of February 17, 2005:
Alexander R.C. Allan, 60, is Executive Vice President of the Company and President and Chief Operating Officer, Europe, Eurasia and Middle East. Mr. Allan joined Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Johannesburg in 1968 as an Internal Auditor. He was appointed the financial Controller for the Southern Africa Division of The Coca-Cola Company in 1978 and Assistant Division Manager and Finance Manager of the Southern and Central Africa Division in 1986. From January 1986 until January 1993, he served as the Managing Director of National Beverage Services (Pty) Ltd., a management and services company in South Africa. In January 1993, he was appointed President of the Middle East Division (renamed Middle East & North Africa Division in 1998). Mr. Allan was appointed Senior Vice President of the Company and President of the Asia Group in November 1999. In March 2001, he was elected President and Chief Operating Officer of the newly created Asia strategic business unit of the Company. Mr. Allan was elected Executive Vice President in April 2001. He was appointed to his current position in January 2002.
Alexander B. Cummings, Jr., 48, is Executive Vice President of the Company and President and Chief Operating Officer, Africa. Mr. Cummings joined the Company in 1997 as Deputy Region Manager, Nigeria based in Lagos, Nigeria. In 1998 he was made Managing Director/Region Manager, Nigeria. In 2000, Mr. Cummings became President of the North West Africa Division based in Morocco and in 2001 became President of the Africa Group overseeing the entire African continent. Mr. Cummings started his career in 1982 with The Pillsbury Company and held various positions within that company, the last position being Vice President of Finance for all of Pillsbury's international businesses. Mr. Cummings was elected to his current position in July 2002.
J. Alexander M. Douglas, Jr., 43, is Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of the Company. Mr. Douglas joined the Company in January 1988 as a District Sales Manager for the Foodservice Division of Coca-Cola USA. In May 1994, he was named Vice President of Coca-Cola USA, initially assuming leadership of the CCE Sales & Marketing Group and eventually assuming leadership of the entire North American Field Sales and Marketing Groups. In January 2000, Mr. Douglas was appointed President of the North American Division within the North America strategic business unit. Mr. Douglas was elected to his current position in February 2003.
Gary P. Fayard, 52, is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Fayard joined the Company in April 1994. In July 1994, he was elected Vice President and Controller. In December 1999, he was elected Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Fayard was a partner with Ernst & Young. Mr. Fayard was elected to his current position in February 2003.
Irial Finan, 47, is Executive Vice President of the Company and President of Bottling Investments, a newly established position responsible for managing the Company's equity investments in bottler operations and overseeing the operations of Company-owned bottlers around the world. Mr. Finan joined the Coca-Cola system in 1981 with Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland, Ltd., where for several years he held a variety of accounting positions. From 1987 until 1990, Mr. Finan served as Finance Director of Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland, Ltd. From 1991 to
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1993, he served as Managing Director of Coca-Cola Bottlers Ulster, Ltd. He was Managing Director of Coca-Cola Bottlers in Romania and Bulgaria until late 1994. From 1995 to 1999, he served as Managing Director of Molino Beverages, with responsibility for expanding markets including the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Romania, Moldova, Russia and Nigeria. Mr. Finan served from May 2001 until 2003 as Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola HBC, one of the Company's largest bottlers with operations in 26 countries. In August 2004, Mr. Finan joined the Company and was named President of Bottling Investments. He was elected to his current position in October 2004.
Charles B. Fruit, 58, is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of the Company. Mr. Fruit joined the Company in June 1991 as Director of Global Media Services and was elected Vice President of the Company in July 1991. He was given expanded responsibilities and named Vice President, Media & Marketing Assets in August 1993, and later Marketing Chief of Staff in November 2000. In October 2001, Mr. Fruit was appointed Vice President, Integrated Marketing. He was named Chief Marketing Officer of the Company in June 2004 and was elected to his current position in July 2004.
E. Neville Isdell, 61, is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Isdell joined the Coca-Cola system in 1966 with the local bottling company in Zambia. In 1972, he became General Manager of Coca-Cola Bottling of Johannesburg, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in South Africa at the time. Mr. Isdell was named Region Manager for Australia in 1980. In 1981, he became President of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc., the bottling joint venture between the Company and San Miguel Corporation in the Philippines. Mr. Isdell was appointed President of the Central European Division of the Company in 1985. In January 1989, he was elected Senior Vice President of the Company and was appointed President of the Northeast Europe/Africa Group, which was renamed the Northeast Europe/Middle East Group in 1992. In 1995, Mr. Isdell was named President of the Greater Europe Group. From July 1998 to September 2000, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Beverages Plc in Great Britain, where he oversaw that company's merger with Hellenic Bottling and the formation of Coca-Cola HBC, one of the Company's largest bottlers. Mr. Isdell served as Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola HBC from September 2000 until May 2001; and served as Vice Chairman of Coca-Cola HBC from May 2001 until December 2001. From January 2002 to May 2004, Mr. Isdell was an international consultant to the Company. He was elected to his current positions on June 1, 2004.
Donald R. Knauss, 54, is Executive Vice President of the Company and President and Chief Operating Officer, Coca-Cola North America. Mr. Knauss joined the Company in 1994 as Senior Vice President of Marketing for The Minute Maid Company, and was named Senior Vice President and General Manager, U.S. Division in 1996. He served from March 1998 until January 2000 as President of the Southern Africa Division of the Company. In January 2000, Mr. Knauss was named President and Chief Executive Officer of The Minute Maid Company, formerly a division of the Company, and became President of the Retail Division of Coca-Cola North America in January 2003. He was appointed to his current position in February 2004.
Cynthia P. McCague, 54, is Senior Vice President of the Company and Director of Human Resources. Ms. McCague initially joined the Company in 1982, and since then has worked across the Coca-Cola business system in a variety of human resources and business roles in Europe and the United States. In 1998, she was appointed to lead the human resources function for Coca-Cola Beverages Plc, in Great Britain, which in 2000 became Coca-Cola HBC. Ms. McCague rejoined the Company in June 2004 as Director of Human Resources. She was elected to her current position in July 2004.
Mary E. Minnick, 45, is Executive Vice President of the Company and President and Chief Operating Officer, Asia. Ms. Minnick joined the Company in 1983 and spent 10 years working in Fountain Sales and the Bottle/Can Division of Coca-Cola USA. In 1993, she joined Corporate Marketing. In 1996, she was appointed Vice President and Director, Middle and Far East Marketing, and served in that capacity until 1997 when she was appointed President of the South Pacific Division. In 2000, she was named President of Coca-Cola (Japan)
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Company, Limited. Ms. Minnick was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of the Asia strategic business unit in January 2002, and was elected to her current position in February 2002.
José Octavio Reyes, 52, is Executive Vice President of the Company and President and Chief Operating Officer, Latin America. He began his career with The Coca-Cola Company in 1980 at Coca-Cola de México as Manager of Strategic Planning. In 1987, he was Manager of the Sprite and Diet Coke brands at Corporate Headquarters. In 1990, he was appointed Marketing Director for the Brazil Division, and later became Marketing and Operations Vice President for the Mexico Division. Mr. Reyes assumed the role of Deputy Division President for the Mexico Division in January 1996 and was named Division President for the Mexico Division in May 1996. In 2000, Venezuela, Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean were incorporated into the Division. Mr. Reyes assumed his position as President and Chief Operating Officer, Latin America in December 2002, and was elected to his current position in February 2003.
Danny L. Strickland, 56, is Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation and Technology Officer of the Company. Mr. Strickland joined the Company in April 2003 and was elected Senior Vice President in June 2003. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Strickland served as Senior Vice President, Innovation, Technology & Quality at General Mills, Inc. from January 1997 until March 2003. There he was responsible for building a strong product pipeline, innovation culture and organization. Prior to his position with General Mills, Mr. Strickland held several research and development, innovation, engineering, quality and strategy roles in the United States and abroad with Johnson & Johnson from March 1993 until December 1996, Kraft Foods Inc. from February 1988 until March 1993, and the Procter & Gamble Company from June 1970 until February 1988.
Clyde C. Tuggle, 42, is Senior Vice President, Worldwide Public Affairs and Communications, of the Company. Mr. Tuggle joined the Company in 1989 in Corporate Issues Communications. From 1992 to 1998, he served as executive assistant to then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roberto C. Goizueta, managing business activities, external affairs and communications related to the Office of the Chairman. In 1998, he transferred to the Central European Division, where he held a variety of positions including Director of Operations Development, deputy to the Division President and Austria region manager. In 2000, Mr.&n