WRAPUP 3-Coke, Pepsi bottlers see sales fall, shares drop

* Coca-Cola Enterprises Q3 EPS $0.51 vs Street view $0.46

* PepsiAmericas Q3 EPS $0.59 vs Street view $0.62

* Coke Enterprises raises '09 view, PepsiAmericas lowers

* Sales fall at both companies, missing expectations

* CCE shares fall 3.5 pct, PepsiAmericas down 0.5 pct (Adds company comments, updates stock activity)

CHICAGO, Oct 28 - Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc and PepsiAmericas Inc sold fewer soft drinks in the United States than analysts anticipated, signaling that consumers remain cautious about spending, and shares in both bottlers fell.

Coke Enterprises managed to increase profit more than expected and raised its 2009 earnings forecast. However, its forecast suggests that fourth-quarter profit will fall short of analysts' current views.

PepsiAmericas' lower profit fell short of analysts' expectations and the smaller bottler cut its outlook.

The companies, which bottle and distribute soft drinks, have tried to protect profits as consumers avoid higher-priced drinks, like bottled teas, and cut back on dining out.

"We'd like to think consumer confidence is going to come back and frankly, I don't know about that," Coke Enterprises Chief Executive John Brock said on a conference call.

PepsiAmericas, which is being acquired by PepsiCo Inc, said it expects sales pressure to persist for the rest of 2009. PepsiCo is set to buy the 57 percent or so of PepsiAmericas that it does not already own.

Shares of Coke Enterprises skidded 3.5 percent to $19.32, while PepsiAmericas slipped 0.5 percent to $29.28.

Meanwhile, Mexico's FEMSA posted a 25 percent jump in profit, driven by strong results from its Coca-Cola FEMSA soft-drink bottling affiliate.

NORTH AMERICA VOLUMES DROP

Coke Enterprises, the largest bottler of Coca-Cola Co drinks, said sales by volume fell 6.5 percent, after declining 1 percent in the second quarter and 0.5 percent in the first quarter.

In North America, volume fell 10 percent. A year earlier, U.S. sales got a boost from Olympic-related promotions and the July 4 holiday falling during the quarter. Coke Enterprises' third quarter ended Oct. 2 in 2009 and Sept. 28 in 2008.

"We said that this year in terms of volume would always be very lumpy with the third quarter representing by far our biggest challenge. It was," Coke Enterprises North American President Steven Cahillane said, adding that he was optimistic fourth-quarter volume would be better.

The U.S. volume decline "will disappoint the Street," but is attributable to July 4, the economy and Coke Enterprises' focus on smaller, more profitable packages, Credit Suisse analyst Carlos Laboy said in a note to clients. He called its 4 percent volume growth in Europe "surprisingly strong."

Last week, Coca-Cola reported disappointing revenue on a 4 percent decline in sales volume in North America.

Those results pushed down shares of Coke Enterprises, which bottles and sells about 80 percent of all the Coke drinks sold in North America, including Coca-Cola, Dasani water and Powerade sports drinks. Coke owns about 35 percent of Coke Enterprises.

Coke Enterprises is selling 16-ounce cold bottles of Coca-Cola for 99 cents and taking other steps to revive U.S. sales. It said U.S. sales of carbonated soft drinks declined about 8 percent, less than sales of higher-priced products.

In Europe, it is adding drinks such as Monster and vitaminwater to its lineup. It will also start distributing Ocean Spray juice drinks in parts of Europe in early 2010.

Coke Enterprises' sales fell 3 percent to $5.57 billion, while analysts had expected $5.71 billion. Prices climbed 7.5 percent. It expects full year revenue to decline slightly, but rise in a low-to-mid single-digit range, excluding the impact of currency.

PepsiAmericas sales fell 15 percent to $1.13 billion, while analysts had expected $1.22 billion. Its U.S. volume slid 8.9 percent.

Sales of bottles and multipacks for home consumption came under pressure after July 4, PepsiAmericas said. That pressure is expected to continue, driving fourth-quarter volume down about 5.5 percent, executives said on a conference call.

Pepsi Bottling Group Inc, the largest bottler of Pepsi drinks, posted a slightly greater-than-expected increase in quarterly profit earlier this month. Its revenue also lagged expectations.