Global economic conditions have been progressing as we expected during the quarter, thus resulting in the gradually improving volume trends, ... I am pleased to say that we are experiencing improving unit case volume trends in each of our operating groups when compared to the trends of the previous two quarters.

What do you do when your competitor is drowning? Get a live hose - and stick it in his mouth.

This past year has been a challenging period ... as economic slowdowns in several key markets had a short-term impact, slowing volume growth and affecting our earnings, ... Even though the economic environment became more uncertain and volatile in the later part of 1998, we strongly believe that our fundamental opportunities for long-term growth have not changed.

The new structure...will allow our company to move forward with a better alignment of our resources against the tremendous volume and profit opportunities we see before us,

With a business system operating in nearly 200 countries, we are not immune to the economic difficulties that currently exist in many markets around the world.

We all owe, and I especially owe, a huge debt of gratitude to the man who steered this company to phenomenal success over the past 16 years.