PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) today reported strong second quarter results as the maker of soft drinks and salty snacks such as Cheetos weathered rising commodity prices and continued to benefit from the weak dollar.
Net income rose more than 9% to $1.7 billion, or $1.05 per share, as revenue soared 14% to $10.9 billion, the Purchase, NY-based company said in a statement. The results surpassed the $1.01 profit forecast and $10.6 billion sale forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Investors reacted cautiously to the earnings report because the company said it could not provide "guidance on the 2008 projected EPS growth including the impact of the mark-to-market gains or losses on commodity hedges due to the unpredictability of future changes in commodity prices." The shares are up only fractionally in mid-morning trading.
Net income rose more than 9% to $1.7 billion, or $1.05 per share, as revenue soared 14% to $10.9 billion, the Purchase, NY-based company said in a statement. The results surpassed the $1.01 profit forecast and $10.6 billion sale forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
"PepsiCo continued to drive growth across its worldwide snacks and beverage businesses primarily through strong product innovation, well-executed pricing actions and focus on expense control and productivity." said Chief Executive Indra Nooyi, "We are proud of our first-half performance and confident that we are well-positioned to deliver on our outlook amidst a challenging macroeconomic environment."
In the quarter, PepsiCo International showed over 20% revenue growth and over 30% profit growth from prior year. A weak spot was PepsiCo Americas Beverages. The economic slowdown has hurt the business, pushing down volumes by 1%. Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist both grew in the single-digits while Pepsi fell in the mid single digits. Energy drinks were a bright spot lead by a triple-digit volume growth in AMP Energy and a 50% gain in SoBe Life Water. Gatorade also showed gains in the quarter.Investors reacted cautiously to the earnings report because the company said it could not provide "guidance on the 2008 projected EPS growth including the impact of the mark-to-market gains or losses on commodity hedges due to the unpredictability of future changes in commodity prices." The shares are up only fractionally in mid-morning trading.
While the sweetest of soft drinks may now be off limits in high-school vending machines, some hip new options may soon be available to the nation's students. 
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