Mexican bottler Arca's fourth-quarter core earnings jump, boosted by US sales

Adds share move in paragraph 3, executive comments in paragraphs 6, 10

By Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Kylie Madry

MEXICO CITY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Mexican bottler Arca Continental AC.MX on Wednesday posted core earnings for the fourth quarter up 42% from a year earlier, boosted by higher drink sales in the U.S.

Its core earnings, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), landed at 14.18 billion pesos ($679.07 million), above the estimate of 11.44 billion pesos of analysts polled by LSEG.

Shares were up more than 3% by mid-day following the results.

The bottler's sales were up 30%, with the largest growth logged in the U.S., despite volumes there dropping slightly. Arca said net prices rose nearly 9% in the U.S. in the fourth quarter.

Topo Chico bottled water logged double-digit volumes growth in the U.S., backed by its flavored water line, Arca said.

While Arca executives acknowledged that the imposition of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could affect its operations there, Chief Financial Officer Emilio Charur told analysts in an earnings call that the firm was well-positioned to offset the hit.

Net profit at Arca, which sells bottled water, soft drinks and snacks across the Americas, grew 16% to 5.27 billion pesos, above LSEG estimates.

The drinks firm expects to grow its sales in the high single digits in percentage terms this year. Last year, sales grew 10.9% on the year to 237 billion pesos.

The firm also forecast growth for the next five years, saying it aimed to reach a compound annual growth rate in revenue of 6% to 8%, with EBITDA growing 8% to 10%.

EBITDA margins in 2025 should hover around 17%, Charur added.

($1 = 20.8829 pesos at end-December)