The Chilean soft drinks bottler, Andina, posted a fourth-quarter consolidated net profit of US$11.3m, down 27.2% from US$15.5m in the corresponding period in 2001.
Operating income reached US$23.6m, down 18.9% from the year before. For the full year, Andina posted net income of US$46m, down 3% from US$47.4m in 2001.
Andina is one of the largest bottlers of Coca-Cola branded drinks in South America. It has operations in Chile, Brazil and Argentina. The fall in profitability has been attributed to the group’s exposure to these markets, all of which have suffered from the negative impact of currency weakness.
