US: PepsiAmericas Q1 profits fall, US sales rise

PepsiAmericas, the soft drinks bottler, has reported a 12% drop in net profits for the first quarter of 2009.

Profits fell to US$21.7m for the first three months of the year, down from $24.7m for the same period of last year, PepsiAmericas said today (29 April).

First quarter profits were damaged by one-off costs and unfavourable currency rates, the PepsiCo-affiliated soft drinks bottler said.

Net sales slipped slightly to $1.06bn for the quarter, compared to $1.1bn a year previously. A 6% sales rise to $826.6m in the US helped to mitigate the effects of a 31% sales decline in Central and Eastern Europe and a 12% drop in the Caribbean, to $183m and $48m respectively.

The firm said that higher drinks prices helped to offset a global volume sales fall of 5% for the period. Volumes fell by 12% in Central and Eastern Europe and 1.2% in the US.

PepsiAmericas CEO and chairman Robert Pohlad said the bottler has "got off to a strong start" in 2009. "Productivity and cost initiatives are well on track to deliver the $40m in cost savings for the year," he added.

The bottler said that it expects full-year earnings per share to be at the high end of its guidance range of $1.83 to $1.90. Full-year sales are expected to grow by between 4% and 5% on a constant currency basis.

Operating profit for 2009 is likely to fall by between 4% and 5%, including currency impact, the firm added. 

Last week, PepsiAmericas established a transaction committee to review a takeover bid made by PepsiCo. The soft drinks giant intends to pay $6bn to buy out the shares it does not own in PepsiAmericas and Pepsi Bottling Group.