Coke sales overstated by RI unit

Coke sales overstated by RI unit

Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, overstated its volume of beverages sold for the past three years because of errors in reporting bottled-water sales in Indonesia.

Volume was inflated by 2 million to 13 million cases per quarter since 2001's third quarter, the Atlanta-based company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Coca-Cola revised growth rates for Asian and global volumes to correct the inaccurate figures. Net income and revenue aren't affected, spokesman Ben Deutsch said.

The overstated sales were disclosed after a joint venture formed last month by Coca-Cola and Nestle SA acquired a 65 percent stake in the Indonesian water distributor, PT AdeS Alfindo PutraSetia Tbk. Coca-Cola acquired the AdeS, Vica and Desca water brands in 2000 and began counting sales in its volume estimates, though until recently didn't control the water distribution business or its seven bottling plants around the country.

Asian sales, measured by volume, have risen 4 percent this year, twice the previously reported rate because last year's sales were overstated, Coca-Cola's filing said. Coca-Cola gets almost a quarter of its sales from Asia, with markets including India and China leading the company's growth.

Last year, the SEC and federal prosecutors began investigating charges from a fired former employee alleging that Coca-Cola inflated sales in Japan by shipping excessive soft- drink syrup to bottlers. The company is cooperating with the investigations, the filing said. -- Bloomberg