Keurig Green Mountain Serves Up $155M Profit in 3Q

Keurig Green Mountain Inc (NASDAQ:GMCR) reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue as sales of its one-cup coffee brewers fell ahead of the launch of a new machine later in the year.

Keurig's shares fell 4 percent in after-market trading on Wednesday after the company also forecast earnings for the current quarter that fell far short of analysts' average estimate.

The company said it expected a profit of 68-75 cents per share for the fourth quarter ending September.

Analysts on average are expecting earnings of 86 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company, which plans to launch its Keurig 2.0 brewers later this year, said brewer and accessories net sales fell 4 percent in the third quarter ended June 28.

Keurig's machines use pods filled with coffee, tea or hot chocolate powder to brew one-cup drinks at home.

Keurig's shares have been hot since May, when Coca Cola Co said it would boost its stake in Keurig to 16 percent, making it the company's largest shareholder.

The two companies are jointly developing a machine that will serve both carbonated and non-carbonated drinks.

Sales of portion packs, which account for 81 percent of the company's total revenue, rose 10 percent to $826.3 million.

The company said profit rose to $155.2 million, or 94 cents per share, from $116.3 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 5.7 percent to $1.02 billion.

Excluding items, earnings were 99 cents per share.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 88 cents per share on revenue of $1.05 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Keurig's shares were down 2.4 percent in extended trading after closing at $118.13 on the Nasdaq. They had risen nearly 10 percent to Wednesday's close since Coke bought a 10 percent stake in the company in February.

(Reporting by Ramkumar Iyer in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)