PepsiCo sells more snacks, fewer soft drinks

PepsiCo saw its turnover drop 3.1 % in the three months until 13 June, but took heart from the encouraging sales growth of its cereals.

Extra costs

PepsiCo’s quarterly turnover went down to 15.95 billion dollars (14 billion euros): despite a 3.1 % drop this was still better than the 15.38 billion dollars (13.5 billion euros) analysts were expecting. Its net profit dropped from 2.04 billion to 1.65 billion dollars (1.5 billion euros). CEO Ramon Laguarta said the coronavirus crisis had cost his company some 400 million dollars (350 million euros).

PepsiCo’s North-American drinks division suffered a 7 % organic turnover decrease as many restaurants, cinemas and sport stadiums were forced to close during lockdown. Increased sales in supermarkets could not compensate this loss fully. On the other hand, cereals and snacks had a 6 % increase in sales, CNBC reports.

Laguarta added that he saw signs of improvement in May and June, as many economies started again and consumers went back to their old habits. However, he also said that a forecast for 2020 would not be given due to the continued insecurity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.