Pepsi Bottling Group Beats Forecasts and Raises Outlook

Pepsi Bottling Group reported strong earnings and raised its full-year outlook on Tuesday. Net income rose to $260 million ($1.12/share) versus $208 million ($0.89/share) last year. Excluding items, PBG earned $0.99/share, beating analyst estimates of $.90/share. Sales were reported at $3.73 billion, an increase from $3.46 billion a year ago, beating forecasts of $3.70 billion. Total world case volume was up 1%, as flat volume in the US was made up for by a 16% increase in Russia. CEO Eric Foss said, "We delivered record sales and comparable operating income driven by outstanding performance in the U.S. and Canada and in Europe, led by Russia. Our strong top-line growth, gross profit per case improvement and disciplined cost management led to solid profit and cash flow increases." In addition, the company announced it had bumped up its full-year guidance to $2.15 - $2.18/share from $2.02 - $2.07/share. Shares of PBG were up 2.7% to $38.18 in midday trading Tuesday.

Sources: Press Release, Bloomberg, Reuters
Commentary: Pepsi Is Losing Some Fizz • Pepsi Bottling Beats, Raises Guidance
Stocks/ETFs to watch: PBG. Competitors: CCE, COKE. ETFs: RHS

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