Coca-Cola Enterprises' 2014 Profit Growth Outlook Is Below Analyst Forecasts

Coca-Cola Enterprises said on Thursday that it expects 2014 earnings per share to grow 10% over 2013, and sales to be "essentially flat," while current FactSet consensus analyst estimates imply growth of 13% and 0.9%, respectively. The company also announced a new $1 billion stock repurchase program. For 2015, the beverage bottling giant projects per-share profit growth of 6% to 8% and sales to be slightly positive, while current analyst estimates suggest growth of 4.6% and a decline of 2.5%, respectively. The stock edged 0.6% lower in premarket trade. It has lost 3.1% this year through Wednesday, compared with a 4.7% gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.