Heavy restructuring expenses and severance, as well as writing down of assets resulted in a $621 million fourth quarter loss for the Cadbury Schweppes PLC spin-off, Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.

While the postings by the Plano, Texas-based company was a turnaround from the year before $138 million; nonetheless, the better-than-anticipated concentrate sales and extended circulation of the soft drink Crush helped Dr Pepper Snapple achieve an adjusted quarterly profit that topped the analysts' estimates. Excluding the one-time costs, the company earned 39 cents a share, against the estimated 37 cents a share.

With its revenue figures indicating a drop to $1.38 billion from the year-earlier $1.39 billion, the seller of drinks like A&W, Squirt and Hawaiian Punch lost $2.44 per share in the quarter that ended December 31. For the full year 2008, Dr Pepper Snapple posted a total loss $312 million, in comparison to a $497 million profit in 2007.

For the year 2009, Dr Pepper Snapple forecasts earnings that could surpass estimates of analysts. The company expects its 2009 profit to be between $1.59 and $1.67 a share, leaving aside a 12-cent per share gain related to the termination of a contract with Hansen Natural Corp. At the same time, the company also anticipates a 2 percent to 4 percent fall in its full-year revenue.