• Earnings per share of $0.46 for the quarter, an increase of 35 percent on a reported basis.
  
  
• Gross profit and operating income increased 15 percent and 35 percent, respectively.
  
  
• Cash from operations for the quarter nearly doubled to $1.2 billion; Company expects strong cash flows to continue in the future.
  
  
• The Company repurchased $486 million of its stock during the first quarter.
  
  
• During the quarter, the Company increased its dividend per share 14 percent.
  

ATLANTA, April 21, 2004 - The Coca-Cola Company reported first quarter earnings per share of $0.46, a 35 percent increase from the prior year first quarter earnings of $0.34. The prior year first quarter earnings included a net reduction of $0.03 per share related to streamlining initiatives partially offset by a gain related to a litigation settlement.

Doug Daft, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Our results reflect our success in driving profitable volume growth of core brands in key markets. We continue to innovate by expanding our beverage portfolio and increasing productivity in cooperation with our bottling partners. Our goal now is to consistently improve the execution of our well established strategies."

Revenues for the quarter increased 13 percent, reflecting an increase in gallon shipments of 6 percent and improving pricing of concentrate. Gross profit increased 15 percent and operating income increased 35 percent during the first quarter driven principally by strong performance in key markets throughout the world, as well as positive currency trends.

On a reported basis, unit case volume increased 9 percent in the first quarter. The reported shipments of unit cases and gallons in the first quarter reflect an increase in the number of shipping days when compared to the previous year. Unit case volume, on an average daily sales basis, increased 2 percent in the first quarter led by strong growth in markets such as China, Argentina, Spain, South Africa and North America.

Throughout the quarter, the Company made strategic decisions in selected markets that focused on margin enhancement through pricing initiatives and an emphasis on more profitable brands and packages. Through the successful implementation of this strategy, the Company is driving double-digit operating profit growth on an overall basis, and in countries like the Philippines and Brazil where unit cases declined. During the first quarter, the Company's core brands reported solid growth, while each of the operating groups delivered volume and profit results in-line with the Company's internal business plan.

Financial Highlights

• Reported first quarter earnings per share were $0.46, a 35 percent increase from the prior year first quarter earnings of $0.34. The prior year earnings included a net reduction of $0.03 per share related to streamlining initiatives ($159 million) and a gain related to a litigation settlement ($52 million).
• Net operating revenues increased 13 percent during the quarter to $5.1 billion.
• Operating income for the quarter increased 35 percent to $1.5 billion led by strong results in key markets and positive currency trends. Currencies positively impacted operating income by approximately 12 percent in the quarter.
• Cash from operations for the quarter was $1.2 billion, as compared to approximately $600 million in the prior year first quarter.
• The Company repurchased approximately $486 million of its common stock during the first quarter and intends to repurchase at least $2 billion of its stock during 2004.
• In February, the Company approved its 42nd consecutive annual dividend increase, a 14 percent increase of the quarterly dividend from $0.22 to $0.25 per common share. This is equivalent to an annual dividend of $1.00 per share, up from $0.88 per share in 2003.
  

Operational Highlights

(All references to unit case volume percentage changes in this section are computed based on average daily sales.)

North America

• The Coca-Cola system in North America remains focused on the superior execution of its strategies with a focus on carbonated soft drinks, profitable growth in noncarbonated beverages, creating customer value, and implementing an integrated operating model to continue to drive improved system performance.
• Results in the quarter were led by profitable growth in all areas of the North America operation, as unit case volume increased 2 percent, cycling 3 percent growth in the first quarter of the prior year. The group demonstrated solid improvements in gross profit and operating income trends as compared to the previous year. Unit case volume increased 3 percent in the Foodservice and Hospitality Division reflecting tailored customer programs, as well as improving restaurant industry traffic. The Retail Division had an increase of unit case volume of 1 percent, cycling 6 percent growth in the prior year, reflecting a strong focus on maximizing value with a balanced price/volume approach and the solid growth of our juice and juice drink business.
• Throughout the quarter, the Company continued to leverage its brand strength with unique product, package and promotional innovations to reach and connect with more consumers. Diet carbonated soft drinks grew double-digits and Trademark Coke had low single digit growth, assisted by increased marketing emphasis and the successful launch of diet Coke with Lime. Other new products, such as Sprite Remix, complemented the continued introduction of new packaging such as smaller single serve PET bottles and the 12 ounce PET FridgePack.
• The group continues to expand its noncarbonated beverages with first quarter unit case volume growth of 35 percent for Powerade, 17 percent for Dasani and 7 percent for warehouse delivered juices. The operation continued to benefit from the expansion of Simply Orange, Minute Maid Premium Heart Wise, an orange juice product with plant sterols to help reduce cholesterol, and new flavors of the bottler-delivered Minute Maid Light products.

• Continued strong profit growth in Europe was driven by sound business fundamentals, innovation, strong marketing strategies, rigorous cost management, and positive currency trends. The group continues to profitably expand in all the key beverage categories resulting in solid double digit profit growth and unit case volume growth of 4 percent.
• The key contributors to the group's performance during the quarter included consistent profit growth in carbonated beverages throughout Western Europe and solid volume and profit growth in Central and Eastern European operations. The group continues to drive immediate consumption packages, supported by integrated marketing campaigns, in key markets such as Spain, France and Great Britain.
• Noncarbonated beverages contributed to profit growth with the acceleration of growth in the group's existing business and expansion into new categories. Noncarbonated beverages grew 31 percent in the quarter led by Powerade and Nestea.
• In Germany, the Company had double digit profit growth resulting from the effective management of the overall package mix, selected pricing initiatives and diligent management of expenses. During the quarter, unit case volume increased 1 percent versus the prior year which reflected strong growth in multi-serve refillable packaging which more than offset the decline in can packaging caused by the imposition of Mandatory Deposit legislation. Volume was also adversely affected by the impact of pricing initiatives.

• The Company generated strong profit growth in Asia during the quarter driven by healthy core brand performance in key markets such as Japan, Australia, Thailand, China and India, as well as currency benefits.
• In Japan, the Company continued to make significant progress on driving profitability through a focus on higher margin packages, products and channels, and a continued emphasis on reducing costs throughout the supply chain. This strategy led to strong revenue and share gains in the two leading profit categories in Japan, coffee and carbonated soft drinks. Key profit drivers included 190 ml cans of Georgia coffee which grew by 8 percent; the full service vending channel which grew by 4 percent, as well as strong sales of high margin single serve packages of Marocha and Sokenbicha tea. Overall unit case volume in Japan grew by more than 1 percent in the quarter. Looking forward, the Company will continue to focus on key margin driving packages and channels, as well as aggressively launch new products that are tailored to emerging and seasonal consumer trends.
• Strong double-digit volume growth continued in China with unit case volume increasing 14 percent, cycling 21 percent in the prior year. Growth was balanced across categories, packages and channels throughout the country, with carbonated soft drinks increasing 8 percent in the quarter and Qoo growing 29 percent.
• In India, the recovery that commenced in the fourth quarter of last year continued in the first quarter with double digit volume growth and significant share gains resulting from our continued focus on single serve package sizes at affordable price points.
• For the overall group, unit case volume increased 2 percent for the quarter, cycling 8 percent growth in the first quarter of last year. Strong growth in most key markets was partially offset by pricing and packaging initiatives that led to volume declines in the Philippines and Indonesia. In Indonesia, the Company modified its strategy in the water category and de-emphasized various large format package offerings. In the Philippines, for the first time in three years, prices were recently raised on key packages. As expected, this resulted in volume declines in the first quarter; however, the Company's net income in the Philippines increased at a double-digit rate during the period.

• The Company continues to benefit from its consistent long-term investment strategy in the region with an emphasis on brand building, new package alternatives, and close coordination with bottling partners to drive superior local marketplace execution. Throughout the region, tailored brand, price, package and channel strategies continue to lead to solid profit growth in key markets. Unit case volume increased 2 percent in the quarter reflecting strong growth in Argentina and Venezuela, partially offset by slight declines in Mexico and Brazil.
• In Mexico, unit case volume declined slightly in the quarter, reflecting challenging economic conditions, cycling 14 percent growth in the first quarter of the previous year, and a change in water strategy. In addition, the Company faced aggressive price competition and responded by protecting the value of its brands and system through strong local execution and emphasizing the most profitable packages and channels. As a part of this strategy, physical cases of carbonated soft drinks grew faster than equivalent unit cases because the operation focused on increasing the number of consumer transactions. Unit case volume in the water category declined due to a strategic decision to reduce the importance of large format water packages.
• In Brazil, the Company continues to encourage increasing the financial health of the Coca-Cola system by offering new packages, providing greater choice to consumers and allowing the system to tailor customer options based on channel strategies to drive revenue and profit growth. Results in Brazil were extremely positive in the quarter, with the Company reporting strong double-digit earnings growth while unit case volume declined by 1 percent.
• In Argentina, financial results for the entire Coca-Cola system benefited from the Company's long-term strategy of investing in the country during times of economic crisis. With strong consumer marketing activities and an emphasis on refillable packaging, unit case volume grew 16 percent during the quarter.

• Throughout Africa, the Company continues to focus on business fundamentals to drive profitable volume for the system. Strong profit growth for the group is being driven by new cold outlet creation, improvements in market execution, balancing price and package strategies with a focus on affordable packaging, and positive currency trends. Africa's unit case volume declined 1 percent for the quarter as a result of volume declines in Zimbabwe and Nigeria, partially offset by strong growth in South Africa.
• In South Africa, unit case volume grew 5 percent through a focus on expanding the on-premise channel and implementing tailored channel and package strategies. Unit case volume in the Southern and East Africa Division was slightly negative for the quarter as the growth in South Africa was offset by the prevailing political and economic conditions in Zimbabwe.
• Unit case volume in the North and West Africa Division was even in the quarter as the Company focused on price realization in Nigeria to improve overall profitability for the Company and its bottling partners. The Company also made significant strides in improving the profitability of the system in Egypt by implementing a new price and package strategy, introducing noncarbonated products, and rationalizing the supply chain.

Financial Review

Operating Results

Revenues for the quarter increased 13 percent, reflecting an increase in gallon shipments of 6 percent, improved pricing of concentrate, and positive currency trends, partially offset by the impact of creating a supply chain management company in Japan.

First quarter 2004 revenues and expenses were impacted by additional shipping days, as compared to the first quarter of the prior year. The growth in gallon shipments of 6 percent in the quarter trailed the growth in reported unit case shipments of 9 percent primarily due to timing of gallon shipments. On a full year basis, unit case volume and gallons are expected to grow at similar rates.

The following reflects first quarter net operating revenues from the Company's operations: