PepsiCo Quarterly Profit Climbs on Snack Sales

PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) reported Thursday an 18% improvement in second-quarter profit that matched analyst estimates as worldwide snack sales grew even with a still challenging consumer market in North America.

The Purchase, N.Y.-based maker of snacks like Sunchips, Ruffles and Doritos and beverages such as Gatorade, Tropicana and Pepsi booked net income of $1.9 billion, or $1.17 a share, compared with $1.6 billion, or 98 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding merger and integration costs, the company earned $1.21 a share, matching average analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue for the three months ended June 11 was $16.83 billion, up 14% from $14.8 billion a year ago, led by a 10% increase in snack sales and its purchase of leading Russian dairy and juice company Wimm-Bill-Dann.

Our global portfolio in both snacks and beverages is growing volume and net revenue, our global snacks portfolio, in particular, posted another strong quarter with balanced top- and bottom-line growth, and we continue to enjoy robust top-line growth in key emerging markets, said PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi.

Worldwide servings grew 6% last quarter, with a 10% increase in global snack sales leading the gains. Beverage volume climbed 5%.

The Pepsi boss warned, though, that the consumer in developed markets continues to be stressed, making the competitive environment in North America particularly challenging.

Volume in emerging markets grew 9% for snacks and 4% for beverages.