Coca Cola 2007 Annual Report Download - page 10

we and our bottling partners benefit from long-term growth in volume, improved cash flows and increased shareowner
value.
The level of our investment generally depends on the bottler’s capital structure and its available resources at the
time of the investment. Historically, in certain situations, we have viewed it as advantageous to acquire a controlling
interest in a bottling operation, often on a temporary basis. Owning such a controlling interest has allowed us to
compensate for limited local resources and has enabled us to help focus the bottler’s sales and marketing programs and
assist in the development of the bottler’s business and information systems and the establishment of appropriate capital
structures.
In line with our long-term bottling strategy, we may periodically consider options for reducing our ownership
interest in a bottler. One such option is to combine our bottling interests with the bottling interests of others to form
strategic business alliances. Another option is to sell our interest in a bottling operation to one of our equity method
investee bottlers. In both of these situations, our Company continues to participate in the bottler’s results of operations
through our share of the strategic business alliances’ or equity method investees’ earnings or losses.
In cases where our investments in bottlers represent noncontrolling interests, our intention is to provide expertise
and resources to strengthen those businesses.
Significant investees in which we have noncontrolling ownership interests include the following:
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (“CCE”). Our ownership interest in CCE was approximately 35 percent at
December 31, 2007. CCE is the world’s largest bottler of the Company’s beverage products. In 2007, sales of
concentrates, syrups, mineral waters, juices, sweeteners and finished products by the Company to CCE were
approximately $6.3 billion. CCE estimates that the territories in which it markets beverage products to retailers (which
include portions of 46 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands and certain other
Caribbean islands, Canada, Great Britain, continental France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and Monaco)
contain approximately 79 percent of the United States population, 98 percent of the population of Canada, and
100 percent of the populations of Great Britain, continental France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and
Monaco. In 2007, CCE’s net operating revenues were approximately $20.9 billion. Excluding fountain products, in
2007, approximately 60 percent of the unit case volume of CCE consisted of Coca-Cola Trademark Beverages,
approximately 33 percent of its unit case volume consisted of other Company Trademark Beverages and approximately
7 percent of its unit case volume consisted of beverage products of other companies.
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. (“Coca-Cola Hellenic”). At December 31, 2007, our ownership
interest in Coca-Cola Hellenic was approximately 23 percent. Coca-Cola Hellenic has bottling and distribution rights,
through direct ownership or joint ventures, in Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Moldova, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Ukraine. Coca-Cola Hellenic estimates that the territories in which it markets
beverage products contain approximately 67 percent of the population of Italy and 100 percent of the populations of the
other countries named above in which Coca-Cola Hellenic has bottling and distribution rights. In 2007, Coca-Cola
Hellenic’s net sales of beverage products were approximately $8 billion. In 2007, approximately 43 percent of the unit
case volume of Coca-Cola Hellenic consisted of Coca-Cola Trademark Beverages, approximately 51 percent of its unit
case volume consisted of other Company Trademark Beverages and approximately 6 percent of its unit case volume
consisted of beverage products of Coca-Cola Hellenic or other companies.
Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (“Coca-Cola FEMSA”). Our ownership interest in Coca-Cola FEMSA was
approximately 32 percent at December 31, 2007. Coca-Cola FEMSA is a Mexican holding company with bottling
subsidiaries in a substantial part of central Mexico, including Mexico City and southeastern Mexico; greater São Paulo,
Campinas, Santos, the state of Matto Grosso do Sul and part of the state of Goias in Brazil; central Guatemala; most of
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