P.M. BRIEFING : Coca-Cola Earnings Up 300%; Sale of Columbia Shares Cited

The Coca-Cola Co. said its fourth-quarter earnings more than tripled from a year ago, reflecting a huge one-time gain from the sale of its stake in Columbia Pictures Entertainment Inc.

The soft drink giant’s net income for the fourth quarter was $757.2 million, or $2.22 a share, up from $235.5 million, or 65 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter rose 11% to $2.25 billion from $2.03 billion a year earlier.

The quarterly earnings included a gain of $509.4 million from the sale of Coca-Cola’s 49% stake in Columbia Pictures in November, the company said. Without the gain, the quarterly earnings per share would have been 72 cents, Coca-Cola said.

For the full year, net income was $1.72 billion, or $4.92 a share, up 65% from $1.04 billion, or $2.85 a share, a year earlier.

After excluding the gain of $1.47 per common share from the sale of Columbia Pictures Entertainment and a 10-cent gain on the sale of Belmont Water Springs Co. in August, yearly net income per common share was $3.35, the company said.

“Our global soft drink business experienced another year of record achievements in 1989,” Coca-Cola Chairman Roberto C. Goizueta said in a statement.

He said the company’s share of the global soft drink business increased to more than 45% in 1989 from 38%.