Bottles of Cott ginger ale move down the bottling line a the company's plant in Mississauga
Beverage maker Cott Corp. is reporting a net profit for its third quarter, reversing a year-earlier loss through stringent cost control, optimized capital expenditures, and improved customer relations.
The world's third-largest soft drink provider, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it made a profit of $13.9-million (U.S.) or 18 cents per share in the quarter ended Sept. 26.
This was a significant improvement from a net loss of $87.6-million or $1.25 per share a year ago.
Meanwhile, quarterly revenue dipped to $404.9-million from $420.5-million a year ago but met analyst expectations.
Cott saw strong revenue growth in its U.K. operations, although this was partly offset by the impact of foreign exchange and aggressive competition in North America.
Still, the company says its gross margin approached the upper end of its expectations.
Cott says it will now look to new business developments and expects to see the volume impact of new customers in 2010.