US: Pepsi Bottling Group H1 sales fall

Pepsi Bottling Group has reported a near-7% drop in net sales for the first six months of 2009, but the bottler said that trading beat its expectations.

Net sales for the six months to the end of June fell to US$5.78bn, compared to $6.17bn in the same period of last year, Pepsi Bottling Group said today (8 July).

Operating profits fell by 12% to $426m for the half, and by 12% in the second quarter. But, net profits for the six months rose by nearly a third to $268m, largely due to a one-off tax gain.

Despite the slips in operating income and sales, Pepsi Bottling Group CEO Eric Foss said that performance had been "above expectations" for the half-year.

The soft drinks bottler said it remained confident on its full-year earnings.

"For 2009, PBG anticipates results towards the high end of its full-year comparable diluted earnings per share guidance of $2.30 to $2.40. This includes a $0.13 per share negative impact from translational foreign currency headwinds," said the group.

Foss added: "Our ability to execute an effective global pricing strategy, achieve robust cost and productivity savings, and deliver solid execution at the point of sale has fuelled our success through the first half of 2009. We're also benefiting from improved carbonated soft drink trends in the US, as well as encouraging developments in the commodity and foreign currency markets."

Volume sales fell by 4% in the second quarter, due to "macroeconomic pressure", it said.

There was no specific update in the earnings statement regarding the standoff between PBG and PepsiCo, which has launched a $6bn bid to fully acquire both PBG and its other main bottler, PepsiAmericas.