PepsiCo again benefited in the first quarter thanks to consumers spending time at home and buying more snacks, crisps and oats. As a result, sales and profit exceeded Wall Street’s expectations.
Soft drinks under pressure
The American food giant recorded a total turnover of 14.8 billion dollars (12.4 billion euros), a 6.8 per cent increase year on year. The net profit of 1.7 billion dollars (1.4 billion euros) also well-exceeded expectations.
In particular, snacks and breakfast items (Lay’s, Doritos, Quaker) sold like hotcakes. Although the sale of soft drinks is under pressure due to the closure of the hospitality industry, PepsiCo was able to partially compensate for this loss by increasing the sales of drinks such as Bubly and Mountain Dew. The group also added new energy drinks marketed at the more health-conscious consumer, writes Reuters.
Geographically, PepsiCo performed well in its home country in particular. In the United States, sales increased in all segments. In Europe and Latin America, the company had to slow down.
PepsiCo expects soft drink sales to rebound during the second quarter as the coronavirus restrictions will be eased gradually. For the full year, the group expects organic growth of around 5 per cent.
