A Financial Analysis of Coca Cola

The Coca-Cola Company is the world largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the company markets four of the world’s top 5 non-alcoholic sparkling brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta, and Sprite. Consumers in more than 200 countries are enjoying the company’s beverages at a rate exceeding 1. 4 billion servings each day. The Coca-Cola Company engages in the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups worldwide. The company offers nonalcoholic beverages, principally carbonated soft drinks, as well as noncarbonated beverages. Its beverage products comprise bottled and canned soft drinks and beverages products. The companys products also include beverage concentrates, such as flavoring ingredients and sweeteners; syrups, the beverage ingredients produced by combining concentrates, sweeteners, and added water; and fountain syrups that use equipment for mixing the syrups with carbonated or noncarbonated water for immediate consumption, and are sold to fountain retailers, such as restaurants. The Coca-Cola Company owns or licenses more than 400 brands, which consists of noncarbonated beverages, including waters and flavored waters, juice and juice drinks, energy and sports drinks, teas, and coffees. It also has ownership interests in numerous bottling and canning operations. Finished beverage products bearing the CompanyGCOs trademarks are sold in more than 200 countries. As of December 31, 2006, the Company operated through eight segments: Africa; East, South Asia and Pacific Rim; European Union; Latin America; North America; North Asia, Eurasia and Middle East; Bottling Investments, and Corporate. In June 2007, the Company completed the acquisition of Energy Brands, Inc. , known as glaceau. The company markets its nonalcoholic beverages under various brand names, including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta, and Sprite. It sells its finished beverage products primarily to distributors. The company sells its beverage concentrates and syrups to bottling and canning operators, distributors, fountain wholesalers, and fountain retailers. History In May 1886 Coca-Cola was invented by John Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. John Pemberton concocted the Coca Cola formula in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard. The name was a suggestion given by his bookkeeper Frank Robinson who also scripted the famous logo . The soft drink was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta. Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as a tonic, contained extracts of cocaine as well as cocoa nut. In 1887, Asa Candler, his partrner bought the formula from Mr. Pemberton for $2,300. By thelate 1890s, Coca Cola was one of the America’s best selling drinks, largely due to Candler’s aggressive marketing of the product. Under Candler’s ownership the company increased its sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900. Mission,Vision Values Mission The Coca-Cola Company in everything they do is inspired by their enduring mission: †¢To Refresh the World in body, mind, and spirit. †¢To Inspire Moments of Optimism through our brands and our actions. †¢To Create Value and Make a Difference everywhere we engage. Vision To achieve sustainable growth, they have established a vision with clear goals. †¢Profit: Maximizing return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. People: Being a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. Taken together, these statements will give an accounting picture of the firm’s operations and financial position. Detailed data will be provided to show what has actually happened to assets, earnings, and dividends over the past few years and somehow include some verbal statements to explain somehow why things turned out the way they did. Furthermore, we will also be presenting the following measures or indices to provide clear insights of the management and how well they have performed in maximizing shareholder wealth. 1. Net Operating Working Capital (NOWC) 2. Total Net Operating Capital (TNOC) 3. Net Operating Profit After Taxes (NOPAT) 4. Free Cash Flow (FCF) 5. Net Investment in Operating Capital (NIOC) 6. Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) 7. Economic Value Added (EVA) 8. Market Value Added (MVA) Balance Sheets Table 1 shows The Coca-Cola Company’s most recent five-year balance sheets, which represent â€Å"snapshots† of its financial position on the last day of each year. The Balance Sheet presents a picture of the business net worth at a particular point in time. It summarizes all the financial data about the company business, breaking that data into 3 categories; assets, liabilities, and equity. The relationship between them is expressed in this equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Assets are what a company uses to operate its business, while its liabilities and equity are two sources that support these assets. Owner’s equity, referred to as shareholders’ equity in a publicly traded company, is the amount of money initially invested into the company plus any retained earnings, and it represents a source of funding for the business. Table 1. The Coca Cola Company 5 Year Balance Sheet Analysis of Total Assets As shown above, the total assets of the company is consistently depict an increasing trend, which shows that it is financially stable and has been profitable. The increase in cash and cash equivalent in 2004 compared to 2003 was due primarily to net cash provided by operating activities of $5,968 million. A significant portion of this cash was generated in locations outside the US. The decrease in cash and cash equivalent in 2006 compared to 2005 was due to increase in property, plant and equipment amounting to almost 1. million brought about by acquisitions and purchases which consequently increases the net fixed assets and other non current assets. Along with the assets, the total liabilities and stockholder’s equity also increased throughout the past 5 years. Based on the company’s annual report, the increase in loans and notes payable of $1,948 million in 2004 was due to the issuance of commercial p aper to meet short-term cash needs in the US, including the quarterly dividend payments and repurchases of common stock. The decrease in loans and notes payable in 2006 compared to 2005 was primarily due to the net repayment of commercial paper and short term debts. Income Statement The Coca Cola Company’s income statement for the past 5-year as shown on Table 2, reflects the company’s performance during these period unlike the balance sheet that provides snapshot of a firm at point in time. The Income Statement is also known as Profit and Loss Statement (PL). The Income Statement shows your Revenues, Expenses, and Profit for a particular period. Its a snapshot of the company that shows whether or not your business is profitable at that point in time. Below is a simple illustration of the PL: Revenue Expenses = Profit/Loss. This is very useful for internal use as well as to external users for it shows whether the company made or lost money during the period being reported. Through this income statement, investors and creditors would be able to forecast future performance, assess the risk of achieving future cash flows. As shown on Figure 1 and Table 2, the Coca Cola Company had experienced a consistently profits for the past five years. Thus, it projects that they operate profitably and demonstrates its ability to use borrowed and invested funds in a successful manner. This positive result that was manifested in the Coca Cola Company’s PL is synonymous to company’s ability to operate profitably which benefits its employees particularly the management, shareholders, as it’s also equally important to creditors particularly current lenders and investors The increase in cash and cash equivalent in 2004 compared to 2003 was due primarily to net cash provided by operating activities of $5,968 million. A significant portion of this cash was generated in locations outside the US. The decrease in cash and cash equivalent in 2006 compared to 2005 was due to increase in property, plant and equipment amounting to almost 1. 9 million brought about by acquisitions and purchases which consequently increases the net fixed assets and other non current assets. Figure 1 The following table indicates, on a percentage basis, the estimated impact of key factors resulting in significant increases (decreases) in net operating revenues: Percent Change Year Ended December 31 2006 vs 20052005 vs 20042004 vs 20032003 vs 2002 Increase in gallon sales4%3%2%3% Structural cahnges-20-3-1 Price and product/geographic mix2101 Impact of currency fluctuations versus the US dollar 0255 Total Percentage increase 4%6%4%8% Net Cash Flow The net cash flow differs from accounting profit because some of the revenues and expenses reflected in accounting profits may not have been received or paid out in cash during the year. Depreciation is typically the largest noncash item, so net cash flow is Table 2 – Income Statement ften expressed as net income plus depreciation. Investors are at least as interested in a firm’s projected net cash flow as in reported earnings because it is cash, not paper profit, that is paid out as dividends and plowed back into business to produce growth. Figure 2 – Net Cash Flow The above calculations are in accordance to the income statements and balance sheets. As exhibited, the net cash flow is continuo usly increasing which strongly suggests that the Coca-Cola Company’s ability to generate cash from operations is one of the fundamental financial strength Free Cash Flow (FCF) This is the cash flow that is actually available for distribution to investors after the company has made all the investments in fixed assets and working capital necessary to sustain ongoing operations. Figure 3 – Free Cash Flow (FCF) As shown in Fig. 3 that in 2004 the FCF of the company plummeted but this was primarily the impact of the major acquisition of plants and bottling companies in Germany, South Africa including the big purchase of San Miguel Corporation, the biggest bottling company in the Philippines. And in year 2005, the company was able to bounced back in their FCF, a significant increase from -$236. 0 millions to almost 6 billion. Net Operating Working Capital (NOWC) This is a traditional measure of company’s liquidity and potential for growth. Net operating working capital is defined as non-interest bearing current assets minus non-interest charging liabilities. This also known as â€Å"investor-supplied capital†, which is equal to cash, account s receivables, and inventories less accounts payable and accruals. This particular measure is not being used when assessing management’s performance as it is not including natural or human capital in its calculation. Total Net Operating Capital (TNOC) It is defined as the sum of net operating working capital and operating long-term assets (liabilities). Other way of calculating this is by adding up the funds provided by investors, such as notes payables, long-term bonds, preferred stock, and common stock. Year 2004 always shows a major changes among the five years operation of the company. The company increased its operating capital to $25,248 from $21,593, or by almost $4 billion, during 2004. Furthermore, most of this increase went into working capital, which rose from $2,647 to $6,015 million, or by almost $4 billion. This is again caused by the aforementioned major acquisition. CONCLUSION Performing this research on Coca-Cola was very hard work. It took a lot of time and dedication to put all of this information together. Coca-Cola can be seen as a group of individuals working together to become stronger and the best. If one individual appears to be weak, the others must pull together to help compensate for the weakness being presented. Working as a team on this project is similar to how we view Coca-Cola. We were a group of individuals working together to become stronger and the best. We fed off of each others energy to achieve a good project in the end. By doing this research, I found out that Coca-Cola makes Odwalla, which I believe is well-known in Africa and was recently introduced in the United States. I learned that Coca-Cola has used commercial paper throughout various years. For those who do not know what commercial paper is, keep reading. Commercial paper is a type of unsecured promissory note issued by large, strong firms and sold primarily to other business firms, to insurance companies, to pension funds, to money market mutual funds, and to banks (Brigham, page 803). This came as a surprise to me at first, but then I realized that even successful firms need help along the way. Coca-Cola appears to be doing well with its current operations. Since Coca-Cola has done well in the past, I believe that they will continue to do well in the future. The non-alcoholic beverage industry seems to be growing with each passing societal change-from people wanting to have soda, but with fewer calories, from people wanting water with a kick, from people wanting energy, and for moms who want their kids to drink things that are good for them. Coca-Cola will be able to keep up with these changes as long as they keep inspiring and letting their employees to be the best they can be. With success comes hard times trying to stay the best and Coca-Cola is living proof of that. Coca-Cola has been around for more than 200 years and counting. With business of this longevity, they must be doing something right. After all, a building is only as strong as its foundation. Coca-Cola was built on a foundation of being the best at what they do and they have not fallen as of yet, so keep up the good work.

Discuss at least two theories which hold that a mental state is Essay

Discuss at least two theories which hold that a mental state is nothing more than some sort of physical state - Essay Example There are two important movements that provide an answer to these questions, i.e. behaviorism and identity theory. It is in my contention that despite the enigma of the human mind, behaviorism and the identity theory, both attempt to offer a rational explanation for the nature and identity of mental phenomena. Behaviorism Behaviorism is generally regarded as the view that reduces mental states to the physical states of the body, specifically to that of the body’s behaviors. Thus, â€Å"behaviorists have argued that mental states and processes are really nothing more than behavior or dispositions† (Heil, 1993, p.174). A behavior is understood here as an external physical movement of the body, and thus includes verbal behavior, but excludes brain activities. Moreover, behavior is either actual or dispositional. Accordingly, all mental states are believed to be behavioral dispositions, which may or may not be actualized. As such, even if there is no actual behavior that co rresponds to a mental expression, the claim of behaviorism holds because it necessarily has a corresponding behavioral disposition. So to have a mental state is thus to behave or to be disposed to behave in a certain way. For instance, to be in pain is to exhibit behaviors such as crying, wincing, saying â€Å"ouch,† etc. ... Expressions containing mental terms such as â€Å"I desire to finish school†, â€Å"I am in pain†, and â€Å"I believe that it is going to rain,† are accordingly, logically equivalent to, or reducible to some expressions containing only behavioral terms such as â€Å"I will attend my classes regularly,† â€Å"I am inclined to cry,† and â€Å"I will bring my umbrella when I get out of the house.† In short, in this view, mental terms are defined in terms of behaviors. It is this notion of behaviorism that will be of concern to us. Logical behaviorism is often attributed to the view of the mind that Gilbert Ryle (1965) advanced as an alternative to Cartesian dualism, which he refers to as the ghost-in-the machine doctrine. Ryle argues that this doctrine commits a fallacy called the category mistake, i.e. when one wrongly takes something as belonging to a certain category that it does not belong to. The famous example given by Ryle is when someon e understands the word â€Å"university† as referring to a particular entity in the very same way that the words â€Å"buildings†, â€Å"members of the faculty†, â€Å"students†, and the like, refer to particular entities. In the same way, so argues Ryle, Descartes mistakes the word â€Å"mind† as belonging to the same category as the word â€Å"body†, and hence believes that the word â€Å"mind† refers to an entity of some kind in the same way that the word â€Å"body† does. Though â€Å"mind† and â€Å"body† refer to different kinds of entities, the fact that they do refer to entities puts them in the same category. Logical behaviorism, as noted above, is the view that mental states are nothing but behaviors. This view lends itself to two

Land law coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Land law coursework - Essay Example This certificate and the registration as the new owner of the property award him all the rights of the house (Dowden 4). His interests in this case are therefore beneficial interests since he is the proprietor of the instrument and hence the legal owner. In case of any court cases, the registration and the transfer of the certificate of registration and ownership will be proof enough of his binding interests in the property above all the others and it overrides the interests of all. Once the ownership rights have been transferred to him, it is up to him therefore to decide what to do with rest of the people who were intertwined with Abigail especially Thomas (her father) and Michael (the tenant). Thomas is a trustee of Abigail in the registered land and he therefore has his own overriding interests in the land and its instruments. His overriding interests in that property are brought about by the fact that the registrar did not record his interests or agreements with his daughter whe n transferring the property from Gareth and this is according to s 78 of the LRA 2002. Thomas assisted Abigail with one fifth of the payment money required to purchase Heavenly Mews and they drafted an express trust. The form of express trust drafted however was not revealed and hence the interest which Thomas has in the instrument is not known. There are different forms of trust which according to English Law may have been drafted in this scenario by the father and daughter. These trusts must have to mention the beneficiary since it is not a charitable trust that Thomas drafted with his daughter. The interest which Thomas may have on the property of Abigail being a trustee may however not be granted or addressed by the courts. This is because according to the Variation of Trusts Act of 1958, the court lacks power to consent trust ascertained to an individual who is suijuris that is the one who is above the age of consent and who is of sound mind like Abigail (Dowden 64). If the cas e of Savill v Goodall [1993] 1 FLR 755 is to be followed, then Thomas would have claimed his share of the money paid for the house since there was an express trust agreement. The fact that Thomas stayed on and off with his daughter Abigail before she sold the property does not have any effect on the interest according to the act and hence is also not admissible court. The interest therefore remains to be null and void unless Stephen who is the bona fide owner of the property instrument decides to share it or enter into joint tenancy or ownership with him (but it is not a must). The other person who may have an interest on the property once Abigail has sold it is Michael who was a tenant of Abigail for around two months before she sold the house to Stephen. There is no mention of any formality being written that explains the tenancy terms of Michael and Abigail. The case does not state whether the tenancy had commenced or it was to commence in less than three months. In the event tha t it was to commence in less than three months, then the interest will be considered as override interest. If the tenancy in this case was an actual occupation, Michael will have an interest according to Sch 3 para 2 as in the case Abbey National BS v Cann [1991]. If he has this interest, the Stephen will have to assume

Blakes Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience with Walt Whitmans Essay

Blakes Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience with Walt Whitmans Leaves of Grass - Essay Example In order to draw the relation of contrast and comparison between Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience and Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, it is quintessential to learn that both William Blake in his â€Å"Songs of Innocence and Experience† and Walt Whitman’s â€Å"Leaves of Grass† serve as a critique of their respective societies during the contemporary frame of time. However, Blake’s approach towards societal institutions was very much different from that of Whitman and upon this paradigm the discourse of contrast can be woven effectively for both the works. For example, if Blake’s view upon religion verses man and Whitman’s propositions upon the same area are taken into consideration, one can draw the effective conclusion that Whitman believed that existence of God is in everything and therefore God is equal to all the existing features around. To explicate this, he writes in the poem ‘Song of Myself’, â€Å"I he ar and behold God in every object, yet I understand God not in the least, Nor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself†. For Blake, the concept of God revolves round the unification of man with God which is more for the purpose of redeeming mankind rather than seeking the existence of God unlike Whitman, Blake had an exclusive Christian vision pertaining to the unification of God with human soul and pondered much upon the hypocrisy of religion in the Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.... ion verses man and Whitman’s propositions upon the same area are taken into consideration, one can draw the effective conclusion that Whitman believed that existence of God is in everything and therefore God is equal to all the existing features around. To explicate this, he writes in the poem ‘Song of Myself’, â€Å"I hear and behold God in every object, yet I understand God not in the least, Nor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself† (Whitman 72). For Blake, the concept of God revolves round the unification of man with God which is more for the purpose of redeeming mankind rather than seeking the existence of God unlike Whitman, Blake had an exclusive Christian vision pertaining to the unification of God with human soul and pondered much upon the hypocrisy of religion in the Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. In poems such as â€Å"Holy Thursday† and â€Å"The Little Vagabond†, Blake criticizes the religion as an institution by vehemently attacking the spiritual leaders who have used wrongly or more precisely abused their religious authority. The men who should guide their followers as shepherds take care of their flocks, in the eyes of Blake are actually practicing and making space for the reinforcement of a socio-economic and socio-political system that are dehumanizing small innocent children into chimney sweepers and follow a repressing action in order to curb and curtail the human emotions of love and creativity among adults. In ‘Holy Thursday’, Blake writes, â€Å"Is this a holy thing to see,   In a rich and fruitful land,   Babes reduced to misery,   Fed with cold and usurous hand?   Is that trembling cry a song?   Can it be a song of joy?   And so many children poor?  (Gillham 18) With regard to the societal criticism

Individual strategic management report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Individual strategic management report - Essay Example It will aid WRSX to respond to the industry. A SWOT analysis, on the other hand, is beneficial in determining WRSX’s internal environment, evaluating the threats, strengths, opportunities and weaknesses inherent in the firm. Corporate strategy and business level strategy will be used for the strategy choice part. External Analysis WRSX can carry out an analysis of their external environment via the use of a PEST analysis (Crossan & Fry, 2013: p23). The external environment of WRSX includes the US, EU, and the Asia-Pacific region, which are the areas that they currently operate in and hope to expand in to. For these regions, a PEST analysis was done Political Factors In the EU and U.S. region, there are stringent laws regarding employment that governments have put, in place, to protect employees. The governments have also sought to encourage their citizens to increase their birth rates. Finally, there are very stringent data protection laws. This contrast with the political fac tors in the Asia-pacific region that include the loose implementation of laws aimed at data protection. In addition, the Chinese government has been encouraging the entry of international firms with provision of favorable tax rates. Economic factors In the EU and U.S. region, Interest rates are relatively low with the UK the only country with comparatively high interest rates, which, however, are expected to fall with the slowdown of the housing market. The U.S. also has approximately half of the global advertising revenue with a 4% forecasted increase in the next year. In the Asia-Pacific region, especially China, there is growth of powerful Chinese-owned multinationals while their economy is increasing at a rate of 8% of GDP each year. Social Factors In the Asia-pacific region, India and China have over 2.5 billion people, although only approximately 150 million of them in China use the services that are provided by WRSX. However, this is slightly more than half of America’ s population, making it a dynamic market, especially as it is expected to keep growing. In the EU and U.S., there is a shift in values with more workers attempting a work/life balance and community work. The population in the west of Europe is in decline, especially the youth. Technological Factors In both markets in the EU/U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region, digital media is becoming increasingly important as a part of the advertising industry. This is especially so because of the growth of internet and improvement of connection. Based on the results, WRSX group could take various options, including management of generation Y, a sustainability policy, expansion into China, and exploitation of the digital opportunity. When these actions are taken, their share prices spiked to ?2.50 from ?2.28, as well as an increase of PBIT index, profits, and revenues, as well. WRSX group has the capability of using its resources to achieve more financial stability, as well as respond to its social r esponsibility requirements. The group possesses experienced and talented staff that is equipped with excellent creative and innovative capabilities for the production of services. However, this is not the case at their New York offices because some of the experienced and t

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Wireless Networks and Pervasive Computing - Essay Example This method has several advantages such as it is reliable, it is ordered, and it is heavy weight (Kozierok, 2005). It is reliable in that any message sent along it, arrives safely unless there is a problem with the connection. Also, when two messages are sent along a connection, the first message arrives first and ordered. However, if messages arrived in the wrong order, resend requests must be sent, which requires a lot of effort to put together. UDP is also a commonly used the message-based internet protocol that does not require any connection (Kozierok, 2005). According to Kozierok (2005), UDP is not be used to send crucial data like database information and web-pages, but for streaming video and audio. It is faster than TCP; hence, it is used in streaming media like real player, and Media audio files. Its speed is higher than that of TCP because it does not require any error correction or flow control. However, it is quite unreliable because the data sent along it is likely to be affected by errors and collision. Also, it is not ordered because messages sent can arrive in any order. Unlike the TCP, UDP is lightweight because it does not track its connections or order messages; hence, little effort is required to translate the data back from the packets (Reid and Lorenz, 2008). All computers, which are connected to the internet, must have an IP address. This is a unique number that is assigned to all computers as a means of recognizing a certain computer from others that are connected to the internet. When information is sent to a computer, it is accepted through the use of TCP/UDP ports. In is highly essential in business in order to ensure the data sent reaches its destination safe and in proper order. What happens is, when a computer program sends or receives data via the internet.

Maternity Mentoring Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Maternity Mentoring - Research Proposal Example From the long term perspective, the employees also develop a sense of belongingness with the organisation if they get such support from their employers. Maternity Mentoring phase ensures that the parents have a feeling that they are needed by the organisation and the company would be benefitted to get them back to the organisation in the post child period. The parents also should be able to adapt to the environment in such phases of their lives. There should be proper arrangements for the mothers as well as work wise flexibility. There are generally a number of phases through which a new or would be parent would be undergoing. This dissertation paper is an attempt to analyse the various aspects of Maternity Mentoring in the wider sense of the term and the various factors of such coaching process that help the organisation to retain the best talent despite the crossing of the various cross roads of the lives of the employees. This study is conducted with the help of primary and secondary data to analyse how this process works in the organisations of the present day. Maternity mentoring in the present day is not a much widely practiced phenomenon in the corporate world. An organisation in order to implement such kind of an HR practise has to start with a pilot project considering a sample of a few employees and has to analyse the costs and benefits of starting such a programme in the organisation (Baumeister and Vohs, 2004, p. 574). It is also important to indentify the different issues that the women encounter when they commence on their re-engagement with the organisation in the post maternity period. It is also important to track the path of growth of the parents in the post parenthood phase and how the mentoring process of the parents would help them to reach a phase of development in their career (Ludeman, 2009, pp. 237- 54). Thus the focus of this particular study would be the understanding of the various aspects of maternity coaching and how the