CHICAGO/NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> reported stronger-than-expected quarterly sales on Tuesday as higher demand for its beverages in China, India and Brazil offset a drop in North America, sending the world’s largest soft-drink maker’s shares up 2.6 percent.

Lower costs and volume gain helped boost profit, which was in line with analysts’ estimates. The company gained market share in the carbonated and noncarbonated drinks markets.

Results continued a trend for the maker of Diet Coke, Sprite and Dasani water, which has relied on strength overseas to counter a weak North American market beset by high unemployment and low consumer confidence.

“This continues to be a story about emerging market growth,” Morningstar analyst Phil Gorham said.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Concerns that food makers would overdo price cuts to lure cautious consumers weighed on Kellogg Co and Sara Lee, even though both forecast better-than-expected 2010 earnings.

Cost-cutting measures helped Sara Lee post quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates, while analysts said Kellogg missed estimates due to higher-than-expected interest costs for debt refinancing and a drop in profit in its international business.

Kellogg shares were down more than 4 percent on Thursday afternoon, while Sara Lee shares dipped 0.4 percent.

Falling prices for some commodities have helped food makers cut prices and offer one-time promotions. But as unemployment remains high and consumers turn to lower-priced store brands to save money, analysts are concerned that manufacturers are risking profits to chase sales volume.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Food makers Kellogg Co <K.N> and Sara Lee Corp <SLE.N> forecast 2010 profit above analysts’ estimates, but concerns about aggressive price-cutting to gain market share weighed on some stocks.

Falling prices for wheat and other commodities have helped foodmakers cut prices and offer one-time promotions. But with high unemployment and consumers turning more to lower-priced store brands to save money, analysts were concerned that manufacturers were risking profits to chase sales volume.

“Even though commodity costs have moderated, I don’t know if the level of moderation has warranted the price declines that were passed through,” Morningstar analyst Erin Swanson said.

She noted that Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Knorr soup maker Unilever <ULVR.L> was one company that slashed prices, though it saw a large increase in the volume of products sold. Unilever also faces stiff competition on the personal care products side of its business from rivals such as Procter & Gamble Co <PG.N>

CHICAGO, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Walgreen Co <WAG.N> posted a surprising drop in January sales at its stores open at least a year, disappointing Wall Street expectations for an increase and sending its shares down more than 5 percent.

A calendar shift that left the 2010 month with one less weekday and sales of lower-priced generic drugs pushed the No. 1 U.S. drugstore chain to its second unexpected monthly same-store sales drop in as many months.

Same-store sales fell 1.1 percent in January, while analysts had been looking for a 2.2 percent increase, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Same-store sales at the company’s pharmacy counters fell 1.2 percent, Walgreen said. Analysts had been looking for a 3.2 percent increase, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Check out a dose of bad medicine for Walgreen.

Analysts had expected the No. 1 U.S. drugstore chain operator to post a 2.2 percent increase in same-store sales. But the company instead posted a surprise 1.1 percent drop. Among factors that hurt the company were a calendar shift. This January had one less weekday in it than last year. That might not seem like a big deal, but Walgreen fills more prescriptions during the week so the shift cut 1.3 percentage points from the same-store sales increase.

Pharmacy same-store sales fell 1.2 percent, a decline made worse by the fact that some of those sales have were in the form of H1N1 flu shots, a one-time item.

The same-store sales decline was also the second monthly surprise in a row.

LONDON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – Kraft Foods won control of Cadbury on Tuesday as holders of almost 72 percent of the British chocolatier’s stock accepted the 11.7 billion pound takeover that will create the world’s biggest confectioner.

Kraft needed just 50 percent plus one share to take control of Cadbury. Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld expects to complete the deal in the coming weeks as remaining Cadbury shareholders come forward to accept the cash and stock bid.

“We are confident that, given the strong support that we got in the tender, in the coming days and weeks we will be able to finish the process,” Rosenfeld said in a telephone interview from London on Tuesday as she munched on a Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate bar.

The majority approval caps a five-month battle for Cadbury that tested Rosenfeld’s leadership and drew harsh words from Cadbury’s top brass in the confectioner’s defense.

LONDON/CHICAGO, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Kraft Foods <KFT.N> won control of Cadbury <CBRY.L> on Tuesday as holders of almost 72 percent of the British chocolatier’s stock accepted the 11.7 billion pound ($18.6 billion) takeover that will create the world’s biggest confectioner.

Kraft needed just 50 percent plus one share to take control of Cadbury. Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld expects to complete the deal in the coming weeks as remaining Cadbury shareholders come forward to accept the cash and stock bid.

“We are confident that, given the strong support that we got in the tender, in the coming days and weeks we will be able to finish the process,” Rosenfeld said in a telephone interview from London on Tuesday as she munched on a Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate bar.

The majority approval caps a five-month battle for Cadbury that tested Rosenfeld’s leadership and drew harsh words from Cadbury’s top brass in the confectioner’s defense.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Kraft Foods Inc CEO Irene Rosenfeld has a simple celebration planned to mark the anticipated completion of the five-month battle for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc.

“I’m going to celebrate by getting a good night’s sleep sometime next week,” Rosenfeld said during a telephone interview from London, as she munched on an iconic Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar.

But first, Rosenfeld has more work to do, including a meeting on Tuesday with UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, during which she will try to ease concerns about the fate of the 4,500 British jobs at Cadbury.

Rosenfeld stressed during the interview that the rationale behind the deal was to grow the combined company and that it was too early to make specific promises about jobs.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chocolate maker Hershey Co <HSY.N> defended its decision to back away from a Cadbury <CBRY.L> bid and a bigger stake in the global confectionery market, saying it remained confident about its growth prospects and was raising its dividend.

Hershey posted quarterly results just as Cadbury shareholders made their final decision to tender shares to Kraft Foods Inc <KFT.N>, with the U.S. food group expected to seal its $18.6 billion (11.7 billion pound) takeover later in the day.

While Hershey tried to pull together a bid ahead of a deadline late last month, it struggled to finance an offer for a company more than twice its size and stood down once Kraft significantly sweetened its bid.

The combined Kraft and Cadbury will now hold the No. 1 spot in world confectionery, just ahead of Mars-Wrigley, and could pressure Hershey’s hold on the U.S. market.