Dr Pepper Snapple Loses $621M in Q4

PLANO, Texas -- Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. lost $621 million in the fourth quarter as it wrote down assets and spent heavily on restructuring and severance, but its adjusted profit was better than Wall Street expected.

The drink seller lost $2.44 per share in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to a profit of $138 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $1.38 billion from $1.39 billion.

Without the one-time costs, the company earned 39 cents per share, beating a consensus profit estimate of 37 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters typically exclude one-time items, according to an Associated Press report.

The company said it expects 2009 profit of $1.59 to $1.67 per share, excluding a 12-cent per share gain related to the termination of a contract with Hansen Natural Corp. It expects full-year revenue to decline 2 to 4 percent.

In 2008, Dr Pepper Snapple lost $312 million, or $1.23 per share. That compares to a profit of $497 million, or $1.96 per share, in 2007. Revenue rose slightly to $5.71 billion from $5.7 billion.

Excluding one-time charges, the company earned $1.85 per share in 2008. Analysts had expected $1.82 per share.

In May 2008, the Texas-based company was spun-off from Cadbury Schweppes.

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