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PepsiCo Affirms Full-Year Outlook

Meredith Derby

Both PepsiCo (PEP) and PepsiAmericas (PAS) affirmed their full-year earnings forecasts Wednesday and said their profits should increase from a year ago.

PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., expects to earn $2.16 to $2.19 a share for the year, including merger costs of 3 cents a share. The company earned $1.96 a share last year. Analysts are calling for earnings of $2.20 a share.

The snack food and soft drink maker also plans to generate cash from operations of $3 billion, after capital spending.

Meanwhile, PepsiAmericas, the number-two bottler of Pepsi-Cola, expects full-year earnings to rise 9% to 11%. The Minneapolis-based company earned 89 cents a share last year. The forecast implies earnings of 97 cents to 99 cents a share. Analysts expect 98 cents a share.

The company also said U.S. volume will probably decline in the low-single digits and international volume will rise 2% to 3%. PepsiAmericas projected net price increases in the range of 2.5% to 3.5%.

PepsiCo holds a 39.8% equity interest in PepsiAmericas. Shares of PepsiCo were down 29 cents to $44.65 on the New York Stock Exchange, while shares of PepsiAmericas were up 1 cent to $14.21.