Upcoming AWS Coverage on Cott Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / May 3, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS). The Company posted its first quarter fiscal 2017 results on April 26, 2017. The maker of beverages such as 7Up, Sunkist and Mott's outperformed earnings expectations and also provided guidance for fiscal 2017. Register with us now for your free membership at:

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One of Dr Pepper Snapple Group's competitors within the Beverages - Soft Drinks space, Cott Corp. (NYSE: COT), announced on April 11, 2017, that it will release its Q1 ended April 01, 2017, financial results before the markets open on Thursday, May 04, 2017. AWS will be initiating a research report on Cott in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on DPS; touching on COT. Get our free coverage by signing up to

http://www.activewallst.com/register/

Earnings Reviewed

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple's sales totaled $1.51 billion, up compared to sales of $1.49 billion for Q1 2016. The Company's sales numbers came in below analysts' consensus of $1.55 billion. For the reported quarter, Dr Pepper Snapple's sales volumes increased 1%, inclusive of the Bai's acquisition. The Company's net sales were reduced by over 1% of unfavorable foreign currency translation and unfavorable segment mix, combined.

During Q1 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple's gross profit increased $18 million to $903 million, on a favorable $15 million comparison of unrealized commodity mark-to-market gains and $7 million of incremental gross profit from the Bai acquisition, which was completed on January 31, 2017. The Company's adjusted gross margin declined 70 basis points to 58.6%, while adjusted operating margin also dropped 70 basis points to 19.9%.

For Q1 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple's corporate costs totaled $81 million, which included $17 million in Bai's acquisition costs and $4 million of unrealized commodity mark-to-market gains. Corporate costs in Q1 2016 were $64 million. The Company's net interest expense increased $6 million in the reported quarter, primarily driven by a higher debt balance associated with the Bai's acquisition.

Dr. Pepper Snapple reported net income of $177.0 million, or $0.96 per share, compared to net income of $182.0 million, or $0.96 per share, for the year ago comparable quarter. The Company's earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, totaled $1.01 per share, surpassing Wall Street's expectations of $0.96 per share.

Bottler case sales (BCS) Volume

For Q1 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple's BCS volume increased 1%, with carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) increasing 1% and non-carbonated beverages (NCBs) decreasing 2%. On geographical basis, the US and Canada volumes were flat, while Mexico and the Caribbean volumes increased 3%.

During Q1 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple's Beverage Concentrates' net sales increased 2% to $294 million, driven by concentrate price increases taken at the beginning of the year and a 2% increase in concentrate shipments, partially offset by higher discounts due to timing, primarily related to our fountain foodservice business. SOP declined 1% to $186 million on a planned increase in marketing investments of $7 million.

For Q1 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple's Packaged Beverages' net sales increased 2% to $1.12 billion on favorable product and package mix, primarily due to continued strong growth in the Company's allied brands and growth from the Bai's acquisition, partially offset by a decline in organic volume. SOP decreased 19% to $141 million as results for the two months of the acquired Bai's business, excluding the distribution profits within the Company's distribution system, was a loss of $17 million, including $11 million of marketing investments.

During Q1 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple's Latin America Beverages net sales surged 6% to $98 million on a 3% increase in sales volumes and favorable pricing. The segment's SOP declined 20% to $11 million for the reported quarter as the segment incurred $3 million of higher US dollar denominated input costs, which caused a 20% decline in SOP.

Cash Flow

For Q1 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple generated $97 million of cash from operating activities compared to $197 million in the prior year. The Company's cash has declined by $100 million including $95 million caused by timing of trade and income tax payments. Capital spending totaled $16 million compared to $27 million in the prior year's same period. Dr Pepper Snapple returned $125 million to shareholders in the form of stock repurchases ($28 million) and dividends ($97 million).

Outlook

For fiscal 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple is forecasting organic volume growth to be just over 1%, while total volume growth is expected to be approximately 2%, inclusive of the Bai's acquisition. The Company is projecting net sales to grow approximately 4% for FY17.

Dr Pepper Snapple continues to expect the repurchase of its common stock's shares of $450 million to $500 million during the year. For FY17, Dr Pepper Snapple now expects 2017 Core EPS in the range of $4.56 to $4.66.

Stock Performance

At the close of trading session on Tuesday, May 02, 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple's share price finished the trading session at $90.23, marginally falling 0.72%. A total volume of 1.56 million shares exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3 months average volume of 1.24 million shares. The stock has rallied 3.51% and 0.36% in the last six months and past twelve months, respectively. Furthermore, since the start of the year, shares of the Company have gained 0.13%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 19.89 and has a dividend yield of 2.57%.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street