UPDATE: Dr. Pepper Snapple Posts In-Line Q4 Earnings, Sales Rise

reported in-line earnings for the fourth quarter. The Plano, Texas-based company posted quarterly net earnings of $150 million, or $0.77 per share, compared to $156 million, or $0.78 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding non-recurring items, the company's adjusted earnings came in at $0.88 per share. Its revenue gained 3% to $1.51 billion from $1.46 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.88 per share on revenue of $1.48 billion. Net sales for Beverage Concentrates slipped 2%, while Packaged Beverages net sales gained 4% in the quarter. Latin America Beverages net sales jumped 17% in the fourth quarter. BCS volume rose 2% in the period, with carbonated soft drinks rising 2% and non-carbonated beverages gaining 1%. U.S. and Canada volume gained 2%, while Mexico and the Caribbean volume rose 1%. DPS President and CEO Larry Young said, "In looking back at our performance in 2014, there's no question that our teams continued to deliver against our focused strategy in a competitive environment. We continued to build our brands with relevant consumer messaging and programming, delivered innovation to meet consumers' evolving needs and drove distribution and availability gains across the portfolio." For 2015, Dr. Pepper Snapple projects adjusted earnings of $3.80 to $3.88 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $3.91 per share. Dr. Pepper Snapple shares rose 1.02% to $80.30 in pre-market trading.