Coca-Cola FEMSA Q2 profit seen up almost 6 percent

Stock Market Predictions

MEXICO CITY (Global Markets) - Mexican bottler Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest coke bottler in Latin America, will report an almost 6 percent rise in second-quarter profit, helped by price increases and solid sales, analysts say.

According to a Global Markets survey of five analysts, Coca-Cola FEMSA (KOFL.MX) (KOF.N) will report a profit of about 2.62 billion pesos ($224 million), compared to a profit of 2.48 billion pesos in the year-earlier period.

The company, a joint venture between The Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) and Mexican company FEMSA (FMSAUBD.MX), will report revenue up almost 9 percent in the quarter, according to the survey.

Analysts said investors will be listening for any comments Coca-Cola FEMSA may make about opportunities to expand and deploy the large sums of cash it has on hand.

"In the second quarter, we expect growth rates to remain attractive, but investors may continue to question (Coca-Cola FEMSA and parent FEMSA's) "unhealthy" balance sheets," wrote HSBC analysts in a report.

Coca-Cola FEMSA, which will report second-quarter results on July 20, recently announced plans to buy the drinks division of Mexican company Grupo Tampico in an all stock deal that allows it to maintain a strong cash position on its balance sheet.

The company has more than $1 billion in cash, which it could use to finance further acquisitions, invest in its business or pay a large dividend to shareholders.

Following is a table with the expected results.

(Reporting by Gabriela Lopez)