Corporate News

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (NYSE: SMI) refers to certain articles in the press today regarding a possible capital injection plan and confirms that it is currently in negotiations with an investor in respect of a proposed investment in the Company through the subscription by such investor of shares in the Company ("Proposed Investment"). The terms of the Proposed Investment is still under negotiation and to-date, no binding agreement has been entered into by the Company and there is no assurance that any definitive agreement can be entered into by the parties.

In addition, the directors of the Company are, as always, also looking at other strategic and/or other opportunities to enhance shareholder value for the Company. No decision has been made about any resulting transaction. There is no certainty that any such opportunity will or will not result in any transaction by or involving the Company or its subsidiaries.

This announcement is made pursuant to the disclosure obligations under Rule 13.09(1) of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.

As at the date of this announcement, the directors of the Company are Jiang Shang Zhou as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company; David N. K. Wang as President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director; Chen Shanzhi, Gao Yonggang and Zhou Jie (Wang Zheng Gang as alternate director to Zhou Jie) as Non-Executive Directors of the Company; and Tsuyoshi Kawanishi and Lip-Bu Tan as the other Independent Non-Executive Directors of the Company.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) reports Q4 EPS of $0.66, ex-items, 1 cent lower than the analyst estimate of $0.67. Revenue for the quarter was $7.51 billion, which compares to the estimate of $7.21 billion. Shares are up 3.54% today.

Highlights From KO's Q4 Conference Call:

• (CEO) I'm pleased - very pleased to report that we ended 2009 with solid growth for both the quarter as well as the full year.
  
• Our global share is growing. This is our tenth consecutive quarter of winning total non-alcoholic ready-to-drink volume and value share.
  
• At the same time we are generating consistently strong and steady cash flow while investing in our business for the long term.
  
• This past quarter we delivered strong international unit case volume growth of 6% cycling 6% growth from the prior-year quarter and total worldwide unit case volume increased 5% cycling 4%.
  
• Strong economic headwinds are still impacting the broader consumer goods sector, especially in the developed world.
  
• Key international markets are fueling significant volume growth for us. China was up 29% in the fourth quarter, the 26th consecutive quarter of double digit growth. For the full year 2009 China was up 16%.
  
• India was up 20% for the quarter and 31% for the full year. Brazil was up 8% for the quarter and 4% for 2009 full year. And Mexico was up 4% for the quarter and 6% for the full year.
  
• Just to put this in perspective, the 2009 incremental volume from China, India, Mexico and Brazil, four countries alone, was equal to adding another Germany, our sixth largest market, to our business.
  
• Today we are pleased to report full year comparable currency neutral operating income growth of 7%.
  
• Now, as we enter 2010, and embark on another era of growth for our Coca-Cola system, we remain very positive about the broader macro treads. We also remain firm in our belief that there is absolutely no better business than the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage business.
  
• In the coming decade, as a billion new consumers enter into the middle class around the world, we see great opportunity for our per capitas to continue rising.
  
• For the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games we launched a 12-month brand activation plan in Canada. We also launched a widespread program across 11 countries that include the Olympic torch relay, consumer as well as customer events. In addition, our Open the Games digital experience has been fully activated in the United States as well as Canada and also in six European nations.
  
• In addition, we are executing our FIFA 2010 World Cup program. This global football event is the single largest sporting event in the world.
  
• In addition to sports, we're also undertaking our most ambitious social media program ever. It is called Expedition 206, a team of three young happiness ambassadors traveling to the 206 countries where Coca-Cola is sold, all to seek out what makes people happy.
  
• While unit case volume for sparkling beverage grew 1% for the full year in the fourth quarter of 2009, we saw 3% growth with our sparkling international performance up 5%, specific increase sparkling beverages 9% for the quarter and 6% for the full year.
  
• Latin America grew sparkling beverage 5% for the quarter and 3% for the full year. Eurasia and Africa sparkling beverages gained 4% for the quarter and 3% for the year. And while sparkling beverages in Europe were down 1% for the full year, due to the difficult economic challenges faced throughout the region, they were actually up 1% for the quarter.
  
• Importantly brand Coca-Cola grew 4% this past quarter, positive proof that our strategy of winning with Coca-Cola is leading the charge for us all around the world.
  
• And while sparkling beverages in North America has declined 2% in the quarter as a result of continued macroeconomic pressures, this performance was a sequential improvement relative to the first nine months of the year.
  
• In addition, Coca-Cola's Zero delivered double-digit volume growth for the fifteenth consecutive quarter.
  
• Overall, our global still beverage portfolio grew 9% in the fourth quarter and 8% for the full year. This growth was consistent and widespread. Each of our five operating groups registered positive still beverage growth for the full year. Latin America still beverages grew 24% expanding a portfolio of well established and emerging brands. Both Pacific and Eurasia and Africa groups still beverages gained 8% and Europe still beverages increased 2%. And North America still beverages were up 1%, growing both volume and value share in the still category for the second consecutive year.
  
• In addition, simply, our premium North America juice brand joined the ranks of our billion dollar brands at retail becoming our fourteenth billion dollar brand. We see great opportunity in 2010 to grow still beverages faster by leveraging our unique geographic footprint.
  
• (CFO) We reported comparable earnings per share of $0.66; up 3% versus the prior year. Full year reported earnings per share were 2.93; up 18% while comparable earnings per share were $3.06, down 3% but reflecting a large negative currency impact.
  
• For the quarter, our business delivered 5% revenue growth, driven by a 1% increase in concentrate sales and a 5% positive currency impact.
  
• For the full year, comparable currency neutral operating income was up 7% in line with our long term currency neutral profit target and in fact up 8% adjusting for structural change.
  
• SG&A expenses were up 9% in the quarter and increased 2% on a currency neutral basis so seven points of currency in that 9% increase.
  
• Our cash flow from operations increased 8% to $8.2 billion for the full year, in spite of the currency headwinds, reflecting the strength of our underlying business performance.
  
• For the full year 2009, we repurchased approximately $1.5 billion in stock, which is more than the one billion that I indicated in our last call.
  
• We achieved positive pricing for both the quarter and the full year. We're particularly pleased with this result as it was accomplished while implementing brand building affordability programs across many markets in response to the challenging consumer sentiment.
  
• In the fourth quarter of 2009, we saw price mix slightly down at minus 1%.
  
• We will maintain our disciplined approach to SG&A in 2010, while we'll be cycling the initial benefits of our productivity initiatives. We expect to capture between one and two points of operating leverage in 2010, from our productivity programs.
  
• From a capital expenditure standpoint, we expect to maintain our capital investment levels in line with the levels of the past several years. For 2010, our best estimate is that the full year underlying effective tax rate will be in the range of approximately 23 to 23.5%.
  
• Lastly, let me take a moment to address some recent accounting rule changes. As required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board effective January 1 of this year, we are no longer consolidating certain entities, primarily some Bottling operations. And let me emphasize this will not impact our consolidated net income earnings per share. But it will impact our 2010 reported results when compared to '09 results especially within our Bottling Investments Group. Specifically and this is for the full year 2009, the entities that were deconsolidated as the first part of this year, accounted for 3% of our consolidated revenues, net revenues and 2% of our consolidated operating income. We'll let you know how this change impacts our comparable results during each quarter this year.
  
• Muhtar, using history as a guide, what kind of system boost do you think you might see both in local markets? And overall as a consequence of World Cup and Olympics? And as for the media, how do you think the African consumers will appreciate The Simpsons ad?(A)Good morning. I think it's fair to say that the World Cup probably really does generate a tremendous amount of excitement across the world. Particularly in countries in Europe, in Latin America. But this time of course, Africa is completely engulfed by it as well. And I think that it's unique, that it isn't on the African continent special treat for South Africans of course, but also for, and the most important thing also is that when it's played in Asia, you ave some issues with timing in terms of viewership. But this time, Europe time zone in Africa is identical pretty much so that'll additional benefit. I think the last time we had the World Cup, we saw some very encouraging results in our business with both very small, medium and large customers across the whole world. Particularly in Europe and Latin America and this time I think certainly that we will see a tremendous excitement in addition to those continents from also Africa.
  
• If I can just follow-up briefly, Gary. On the Bottler investments, you saw some benefits from volume leverage and input cost deflation on the Bottler group. If we take out a lot of currency shifts, where do you think the underlying Bottler investment margins are right now?(A)One thing I'd say about Bottling investments is, remember the hospital ward concept and that the only reason those bottlers are in there is for some kind of issue that was with the bottler when we took it over. I think Irial's been very consistent that forget commodities, forget currency, forget everything else, that over time we're going to see continuing improvement in margins within the Bottler Investments group. And we're seeing those. We're seeing them quarter-by-quarter and year-by-year. And I think you'll continue to see those where we're now seeing some of those bottlers actually coming up to kind of world-class types of margins. We've still got margin issues in others, but they're improving over time. And so I'd say we're very comfortable with where it is, and there's still improving.(A)Just one thing to add on that maybe Mark, is that the way I look at these, all these bottlers that are being currently where we have equity majority and most of the time and manage them is I put them into three groups really. I say, group one, ready now. Group two, ready in one to two years. And then group three, ready in three years plus. And we have some in all three groups.
  
• Gary, you talked about for 2010 price-mix probably remaining flattish and one or two points of leverage from productivity programs. In 2009 you delivered the three points of leverage you referred to on the full year. so when you consider media rates and spending plans for 2010, do you think you can maintain overall about three points of leverage to offset the continued price-mix drag versus the long-term gowth? (A)Yes. Thanks, Bill. I think where we are is because we're cycling some of those productivity programs in 2009, that's why we're saying that our leverage from SG&A will probably be in the one to two points of leverage versus the three points that we got in 2010. But some of what Muhtar is taking about like the first ever integrated global campaign for Powerade, et cetera, we're going to be able to get a lot of leverage out of better integration across markets where we're getting a lot of productivity in our marketing as well as we continue to reinvest but actually not have to spend a lot more money in getting the same kind of leverage from it. So a different way of saying, some leverage you won't see through some things we're doing but in addition to that we'll get one to two points we think in 2010.(A)Bill, just to provide one other commentary on that. No question that as you [audio gap] there get sooner, and we are cycling some pretty big numbers that we've been able to achieve in productivity gains in 2009 and even 2008 we achieved significant. We're ahead of the $500 million program at the end of 2009. Now, the $500 million that we had put out there does not include of course the marketing effectiveness. It does not include supply chain gains and so forth. Those come on top. But I think you will see us striving towards exceeding the 500 million. And the timeframe for that as you know, 2009, 2010, 2011. But no question that I think we are, you need to consider that we're also cycling from those gains.
  
• First the guidance for the buy backs. Given how much cash you're sitting on, I'm surprised the guidance isn't more than just a billion and a half? And then second, the Stilled Beverage business in Latin America, I know it's still a really [audio gap] immature business but how attainable is the 20-plus percent type growth you're seeing there?(A)Wendy, just let me make some commentary and I'll ask Gary to comment also on the share buy-back. Firstly, I want to just stress the importance and how pleased I am with the [audio gap] of our cash generation. In an era and in a time period of the last 15, 16 months, when so many businesses, so many companies were in trouble and strapped for, because of lack of cash, we went, we grew our cash by 8% in the year, and went over $8 billion for the first time. So that gives us tremendous, also flexibility as we move forward into this year and beyond. And I'll ask Gary to comment on that as well as on the share buy-back. On the Stilled Beverages side, I've always [audio gap] that turning for Still Beverages in Latin America really began for us only sort of fully in 2009. We started in the middle of 2008 with the acquisition of Hugers Deviers [ph] and also our Makalayo [ph] and the Herbal business, beverage business in Brazil. And we're rolling out Hugers Deviers [ph] now in almost 20 countries already, [audio gap]. Not just in Latin America, also in some, we've also rolled it out in some other countries across the world. So we see that it's still a very small base and again the picture of success is for us to grow both [audio gap], continue to grow [audio gap] in Latin America as [audio gap] standing that because stills is coming from a much smaller base, it'll grow
  faster.Yes, Wendy, on the share buy-back, here's where we are. As, there's a couple of aspects to it. You're right. We are sitting on a lot of cash. I'm well aware of that. But number two, I think we're still being somewhat conservative in our views and how we're investing. So that's - but the other major thing is that around credit ratings and you heard me talk about this in the past, around holding those system credits [audio gap], we will be meeting with a credit agencies, rating agencies next month. As we do that, I'll update you each quarter as to where we are on share repurchase. And it very well could
  change. And I'll update you on that as we go through the year. Much as it did, it changed in the fourth quarter, and we very quickly changed, as I saw stock option exercises ramping up. We accelerated our share repurchase program. So we're very prepared to do that. I can just kind of give you a view right now. But at the end of the first quarter we'll give you an update on where we are.(A)Wendy, just let me,
  just also make a broader commentary on the Juice business at large. You know, I think we made Juice a very major priority two years ago. And it is really important to remind ourselves of that. And we have, in the past sort of seven, eight years, the Coca-Cola system has nearly tripled its volume and
  almost doubled its share of its Juice business globally, growing at a double-digit tagger. And we see still ahead tremendous opportunity. You know, tremendous opportunity like in brands like Minute Maid, tap pi [ph], Martha [ph], the Hugers de viya molten made [ph] investments. We continued to invest simply, and I mentioned that it's now a $14 billion brand. And in the Q4 of 2009 we announced the launch of our first global common look and feel for our leading juice brands beginning with Minute Maid in the U.S.A. as the first step in the strategy to create a single-global juice brand architecture which unites different brand names under common logos. And I think you need to see that our partnerships with leading global juice experts like Cutraley [ph], our French friends [ph], our investments, our partners commitment, the system commitment, all will continue to drive juice as a major opportunity in the coming years.

Toyota's (NYSE: TM) hearing in the US House related to the recalls has been moved to February 24

Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) today announced the completion of the sale of a 20 percent undivided working interest in the Production Sharing Contract and Joint Operating Agreement in Angola Block 32 to Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola, Empresa Publica - (SONANGOL, E.P.)'s wholly owned subsidiary, Sonangol Pesquisa e Producao, S.A. Under previously announced terms, the transaction has an effective date of Jan. 1, 2009. Marathon will retain a 10 percent working interest in Block 32.

"Through this sale, Marathon has been able to capture exploration value and bring better balance to our overall portfolio by redeploying capital into other growth regions for the Company. At the same time, maintaining a 10 percent interest in both Blocks 31 and 32 provides Marathon with exposure to this important resource base," said Dave Roberts, Marathon executive vice president, Upstream.

The 12 previously announced discoveries on Block 32 include: Gindungo, Canela, Cola, Gengibre, Mostarda, Salsa, Caril, Manjericao, Louro, Cominhos, Colorau and Alho. Conceptual development studies are under way in order to establish the feasibility of a first development area in the central southeastern part of Block 32.

The concessionaire of Block 32 is SONANGOL, E.P. The operator is TOTAL Exploration and Production Angola (Block 32 Ltd) with 30 percent interest. Sonangol E.P. holds a 20 percent interest; Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Block 32) holds a 15 percent interest; and Petrogal holds a 5 percent interest.

In a government filing, GMAC said it may sell Rescap's UK continental Europe operations and also some "domestic mortgage-related assets". GMAC has said that Rescap may keep some assets tied to those businesses.