PLANO, Texas — Dr Pepper Snapple Group said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profit increased to $166 million, or 77 cents a share, from $112 million, or 49 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Adjusted profit for the latest quarter totaled 82 cents a share. The beverage company’s sales edged up to $1.46 billion, from $1.41 billion.

Wall Street analysts expected the company to earn 74 cents a share on revenue of $1.45 billion, according to a survey by FactSet Research.

For full-year 2012, Dr Pepper Snapple expects earnings of $2.90 to $2.98 a share, compared to the Wall Street estimate of $2.90 a share.

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