A Letter from Our Chairman
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"The men and women of The Coca-Cola Company have a passion
for what they do that ignites inspiration every day. In this spirit, they have
driven significant change through every aspect of the organization."
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DEAR FELLOW SHAREOWNER:
Two thousand and six was a very good year for The Coca-Cola Company. We achieved our 52nd
consecutive year of unit case volume growth. Volume reached a record high of 21.4 billion unit
cases. Net operating revenues grew 4 percent to $24.1 billion, and operating income grew
4 percent to $6.3 billion. Our total return to shareowners was 23 percent, outperforming the
Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. By virtually every measure, we met or exceeded
our objectives—a strong ending for the year with great momentum for entering 2007.
The secret formula to our success in 2006? There is no one answer. Our inspiration comes from many
sources—our bottling partners, retail customers and consumers, as well as our critics. And the men
and women of The Coca-Cola Company have a passion for what they do that ignites this inspiration
every day, everywhere we do business. We remain fresh, relevant and original by knowing what
to change without changing what we know. We are asking more questions, listening more closely
and collaborating more effectively with our bottling partners, suppliers and retail customers to give
consumers what they want.
And we continue to strengthen our bench, nurturing leaders and promoting from within our organization.
As 2006 came to a close, our Board of Directors elected Muhtar Kent as president and chief operating
officer of our Company. Muhtar is a 28-year veteran of the Coca-Cola system (the Company and our
bottling partners). Muhtar's close working relationships with our bottling partners will enable us to continue
capturing marketplace opportunities and improving our business. Other system veterans promoted
and now leading operating groups include Ahmet Bozer, Eurasia; Sandy Douglas, North America;
and Glenn Jordan, Pacific. Combined, these leaders have 65 years of Coca-Cola system experience.