Coca-Cola profits off 22 percent

The Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest beverage maker, reported Wednesday a 22 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit despite a solid gain in sales.

The results reported by Coca-Cola followed results reported Tuesday by its largest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises. CCE said it would cut about 3,500 jobs, or 4.7 percent of its work force, as it reported a whopping $1.7 billion loss in the fourth quarter.

Analysts said CCE has struggled with higher costs for aluminum and other commodities and a shift in consumer tastes away from carbonated beverages to juices, teas and waters. CCE bottles Coca-Cola products and delivers them to market. The Coca-Cola Co. owns a stake in CCE.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola said it earned $678 million, or 29 cents a share, for the three months ending Dec. 31, compared to a profit of $864 million, or 36 cents a share, for the same period a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, Coca-Cola said it earned $1.23 billion, or 52 cents a share.

•The amount of red ink at bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc. swelled to more than $18 billion since the start of 2001 as the company reported Wednesday a bigger fourth-quarter loss than a year ago due in large part to restructuring items.

Even so, Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian said the nation’s third-largest carrier is making improvements — he cited a $58 million operating profit for all of 2006 — and is on target to emerge from Chapter 11 as early as April as a stand-alone company.

Quarterly revenue rose 5.3 percent to $4.14 billion from $3.93 billion in the same period a year ago.

•Office Depot Inc., the nation’s second-largest office supplies retailer, said Wednesday its fourth-quarter earnings rose 27 percent as the chain cut operating costs and used promotions to drive holiday sales.

Net income jumped to $135 million, or 48 cents per share, from $106.3 million, or 34 cents per share, a year ago. Earnings adjusted to exclude certain items were $151.7 million, or 54 cents per share, versus $117.1 million, or 38 cents per share, in the 2005 quarter.

But analysts, whose estimates typically exclude items, were looking for profit of 52 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial, and the company’s shares fell $1.30, or 3.5 percent, to close at $36.21 on the New York Stock Exchange.