PepsiCo (PEP) -) posted stronger-than-expected second quarter earnings Thursday, while boosting its full-year profit forecast, as the drinks and snacks group continued to pass on higher prices to resilient U.S. customers.
PepsiCo said core earnings for the three months ending on June 17 were pegged at $2.09 per share, up 12.4% from the same period last year and 13 cents ahead of the Street consensus forecast.
Overall group revenues, PepsiCo said, rose 10.3% to $22.32 billion, again topping analysts forecasts of a $21.73 billion tally.
North American revenues at Frito Lay, its snacks division, rose 14% to $5.9 billion. Beverages revenues were up 10.4% at $6.755 billion. Overall prices were up 15% from last year through the second quarter, PepsiCo said, while organic volumes were down 2.5%.
Looking into the 2023 financial year, PepsiCo said it sees organic revenue growth of around 10%, topping its previous forecast of 8%, while boosting its forecast for core earnings for the year to $7.47per share.
"We are very pleased with our performance for the second quarter as our business momentum remains strong, said CEO Ramon Laguarta. "Our strong performance and the progress we are making on our strategic priorities give us confidence that the investments we are making to become an even Faster, even Stronger, and even Better organization by Winning with pep+ are working.'
"Moving forward, we will look to elevate our focus on productivity initiatives to further support investments in innovation, brand building, digitalization, and sustainability to win in the marketplace and fortify our businesses for the long-term," he added.
PepsiCo shares were marked 0.25% higher in early Thursday trading immediately following the earnings release to change hands at $183.65 each, nudging the stock's year-to-date gain to around 2.3%.
