Coca-Cola Reports Strong Quarter

Soft-drink giant Coca-Cola Co. earned more than analysts expected in the third quarter, the company said Friday, as growing sales volumes overseas more than made up for flat sales in North America.

The world’s largest soft-drink maker reported operating profit of 42 cents per share, a penny more than the consensus profit projection of analysts surveyed by First Call/ Thomson Financial. Including recurring items, earnings per share were 43 cents, up 34 percent from a year earlier.

Net income of $1.067 billion was up 36 percent from $787 million a year ago. Sales were $5.5 billion, up 8 percent from $5.1 billion during the third quarter of 1999.

In other earnings reports:

Sterling Financial Corp. reported higher earnings for the third quarter and first nine months of 2000.

The Spokane-based parent of Sterling Savings Association said Thursday that it had $3.5 million in net income for the quarter, compared with $3.3 million for the same period in 1999. Per share, that is 43 cents this year, compared with 41 cents a year ago.

For the first nine months of the year, Sterling earned $10.2 million, or $1.25 per diluted share, compared with $9.4 million, or $1.15 per share, in 1999.

Chairman Harold Gilkey credited the improved results to loan growth and an increase in interest income despite tighter interest margins.

For the quarter, interest income climbed almost 6 percent from 1999 levels. The nine-month increase is 7.2 percent.

Assets grew to $2.69 billion at the end of September, up 6.8 percent from last year. Return on average equity was 11 percent, down slightly from last year’s 11.2 percent. Return on average assets was 0.52 percent, also down a bit from 0.53 last year.

United Security Bancorporation announced slightly lower earnings for the third quarter but growth in assets, loans and deposits.

The Spokane-based holding company of several banks in Eastern and Central Washington said Thursday that it had net income of $2.3 million, or 23 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Last year, the company earned $2.6 million, or 34 cents per share, for the same period.

But the results are skewed by a $125,000 tax loss and $168,000 gain on the sale of real estate this year. In the 1999 quarter, United’s performance was helped by a $400,000 tax gain.

The company earned $6 million, or 81 cents per share, during the first nine months of 2000. Income for the same period in 1999 was $6.8 million, or 88 cents per share.

Bank President Wes Colley characterized the year so far as a “clean-up period” during which nonproductive assets were eliminated.

At quarter’s end, United’s assets stood at $578 million, loans at $472 million and deposits at $506 million.

Comparative figures from 1999 are: assets, $527 million; loans, $423 million; and deposits, $452.9 million.

United owns United Security Bank, Home Security Bank, Grant National Bank, Bank of Pullman, and AmericanWest Bank. The subsidiaries have a total of 36 branches.

Itron Inc. reported its third consecutive quarter of increasing profitability, and projected continued revenue growth into 2001.

The Spokane maker of remote meter-reading equipment said Thursday that it earned $1 million, or seven cents per share, during the three-month period ended Sept. 30. The company lost $5.9 million, or 39 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.

The year-ago results were depressed by an $8.8 million restructuring charge.

For the first nine months of the year, Itron earned $3.7 million, or 24 cents per share, compared with a loss of $4 million, or 27 cents per share, in the 1999 period.

Excluding all charges, the company would have earned $2.5 million, or 17 cents per share, for 2000 so far, compared with a loss of $700,000, or five cents per share, for the first nine months of 1999.

President Leroy Nosbaum said new order bookings during the quarter increased backlog by $7 million, to $47 million for the next 12 months and a total $164 million.

Revenues for the quarter were down slightly, to $42.5 million, but gross margins increased to 40 percent. Operating expenses dropped $500,000 compared with the second quarter.

Nosbaum said fourth-quarter revenues could climb by as much as 10 percent from last quarter, and as much again in 2001.

Staff writer Bert Caldwell contributed to this report.