COT LOGOCott Corporation (NYSE: COT) announced today that the company will be hosting a conference call on July 31, 2008, at 10 a.m. ET to discuss the financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2008. The company will be releasing second quarter results before the markets open on that same day.

So what should investors expect of the company's second quarter performance?

Cott Corporation operates as a worldwide beverage and soft drink manufacturer, distributor and marketer. They have established markets in more than 60 countries worldwide. The company sells carbonated soft drinks, sparkling and flavored waters, energy drinks, sports drinks, juices, juice drinks, smoothies, ready-to-drink teas and similar refreshing drinks.

Cott operates on a seasonal pattern so the approaching summer (during the second quarter) should have yielded the company some larger than average revenues, compared to other quarters of the fiscal year. There is, however, no indication that the company will report improved results nor whether their revenue will increase or decrease compared to the second quarter 2007.

However Cott seems to be taking things seriously. On June 19th, the company announced several management changes, as apart of an overall cost-cutting exercise. The company is also cutting regular jobs as well as reducing SG&A expenses, and they announced their intention to refocus the company on private label beverages. Although such drastic methods do not call for a positive reaction on the company's stock, improving their fundamentals currently appears to be the right path to take.

COT chart

For the first quarter 2008, the company reported they had $21 million in cash. Although Cott stated that amount was adequate for the time being, seeing quarterly losses that exceed this number give one pause, even though, as reported in their Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow for the quarter ended March 29, 2008, a non-cash depreciation and amortization charge of $20.9MM, comprised most of that quarter's loss.

The coming results should not be expected to get extremely better. Since the company only announced the implementation of their cost reduction plan on June 19, their expenses for the second quarter should not be affected much over such a short period of time. It will take at least another quarter for the company to show improvements in their financial statements. Meanwhile the announcement of such a plan and increasing quarterly losses suggest the company will most likely be posting rather disappointing results for Q2 2008.