Coca-Cola FEMSA Announces 25.0% Operating Profit Growth for 2001

Business Wire, Feb 19, 2002

Business Editors

MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 19, 2002

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A. de C.V.

(NYSE:KOF) (BMV:KOFL)

                          FOURTH QUARTER 2001

    --  Consolidated unit case volume increased by 0.6% as a result of
        a 1.7% increase in sales volume in the Mexican territories and
        a 2.8% decrease in Argentina.

    --  Consolidated operating income increased by 12.2% to Ps.
        1,028.6 million, reaching a consolidated operating margin of
        22.8%, an increase of 2.8 percentage points as compared to
        fourth quarter 2000. Operating income in Mexico increased by
        12.8% during the period and remained flat in Buenos Aires as
        compared to the fourth quarter of 2000.

    --  Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and
        amortization ("EBITDA") increased by 1.2% over the fourth
        quarter of 2000, reaching Ps. 1,303 million.

    --  Consolidated majority net income increased by 62.8% to Ps.
        755.1 million, resulting in an earnings per share (EPS) of Ps.
        0.530 (US$0.577 per ADR).

                            FULL YEAR 2001

    --  Consolidated unit case volume increased by 4.3%, a result of
        3.6% and 6.9% increases in sales volume in the Mexican and
        Buenos Aires operations, respectively.

    --  Consolidated operating income increased by 25.0% to Ps.
        3,796.3 million, reaching a consolidated operating margin of
        21.7%, an increase of 3.7 percentage points for the full year
        2000. This increase resulted from 25.4% and 8.1% operating
        income increases in the Mexican and Argentine territories,
        respectively.

    --  Consolidated earnings, before interest, tax, depreciation and
        amortization (EBITDA)1 increased by 14.0% as compared to
        2000, reaching a total of Ps. 4,934 million.

    --  Consolidated majority net income increased by 68.8% to Ps.
        2,244 million, resulting in an earning per share (EPS) of
        Ps. 1.575 (US$1.715 per ADR).

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) (BMV:KOFL) ("KOF" or the "Company"), one of the global Coca-Cola anchor bottlers and the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Mexico and Argentina, announced today its consolidated results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2001.

"In a year of great economic volatility and industry challenges, Coca-Cola FEMSA has once again demonstrated outstanding financial results, underscoring evidence of our ability to execute and connect with our customers and clients. Importantly, we believe that the underlying fundamentals of our business - our channel marketing, our growing commercial network, our management information systems, our Coca-Cola brand portfolio, and our people - are stronger than ever," stated Carlos Salazar, chief executive officer of the Company.

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To obtain the full text of this earnings release, please visit our Web site at www.cocacola-femsa.com.mx under the Financial Reports section. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A. de C.V. produces Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Lift and other trademark beverages of The Coca-Cola Company in the Valley of Mexico and the Southeast Territories in Mexico and in the Buenos Aires Territory in Argentina. The Company has nine bottling facilities in Mexico (including the recently acquired Sabino Plant) and one in Buenos Aires and serves more than 255,000 retailers in Mexico and 72,000 retailers in the greater Buenos Aires area. Coca-Cola FEMSA currently accounts for approximately 4% of Coca-Cola global sales, 26% of all Coca-Cola sales in Mexico and approximately 36% of all Coca-Cola sales in Argentina. The Coca-Cola Company owns a 30% equity interest in Coca-Cola FEMSA.

Figures for the Companys operations in Mexico and its consolidated international operations were prepared in accordance with Mexican generally accepted accounting principles ("Mexican GAAP"). Figures of the Companys operations in Argentina were prepared in accordance with Argentine generally accepted accounting principles. All figures are expressed in constant Mexican pesos with purchasing power at Dec. 31, 2001. For comparison purposes, 2000 and 2001 figures from the Companys Argentine operations have been restated taking into account Argentine inflation with reference to the Argentine consumer price index and converted from Argentine pesos into Mexican pesos using the Dec. 31, 2001 exchange rate of Ps. 8.89 per A$1.00. In addition, all comparisons in this report for the fourth quarter of 2001, which ended on Dec. 31, 2001, in this report are made against the figures for the comparable period, fourth quarter 2000, unless otherwise noted.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements concerning Coca-Cola FEMSA[acute accent]s future performance and should be considered as good faith estimates of Coca-Cola FEMSA. These forward-looking statements reflect managements expectations and are based upon currently available data. Actual results are subject to future events and uncertainties that could materially impact the Companys actual performance.