Charlotte-based Coca-Cola Bottling’s earnings fall more than 8%

Charlotte-based Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated said Tuesday its earnings fell more than 8 percent from last year as the cost of the company’s expansion efforts rose.

The company, which is the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the U.S., reported that it earned $2.2 million, or 24 cents per share, for the first quarter that ended March 29 compared with $2.4 million, or 26 cents per share, for the same time period last year.

In previous quarters, the company has said its earnings have dropped due to “significant costs” related to its acquisition of new franchise territory. This quarter, the bottler, which employs about 6,500 workers in 11 states, reported continued spending on expanding the company’s franchise into new distribution territories.

But despite poorer performance in this year’s first quarter, executives are optimistic about the company’s growth.

“The early results from our acquired territories show we are experiencing good performance,” company President Hank Flint said in a news release.

Excluding the new territories it obtained, the firm reported that revenues grew nearly 3 percent from last year. Overall, revenues rose more than 16 percent, to $453 million.

The bottler closed a deal this month to expand its franchise territory into Paducah and Pikeville, Ky. As part of the deal, Coca-Cola Bottling agreed to exchange its franchise territory in Jackson, Tenn., for territory currently served by Coca-Cola Refreshments, another Coca-Cola Co. affiliate in Lexington, Ky., and to expand the bottler’s franchise to include Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind.

This story was originally published May 5, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Charlotte-based Coca-Cola Bottling’s earnings fall more than 8%."