Earnings leap up for Pepsi Bottling

Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. on Tuesday said its third-quarter earnings jumped 22 per cent, boosted by sales of Aquafina bottled water and Mountain Dew Code Red soda, and said its growth is on track for the rest of the year. The company also said it expected to see prices rise on average about 3 per cent in 2002, with a similar price increases seen specifically in cases sold at large stores. The largest bottler of PepsiCo Inc. soft drinks posted earnings of $150 million, or $1.02 per share, up from $123 million, or 82 cents a share, a year earlier. Net revenues climbed 7 per cent, to $2.27 billion from $2.13 billion a year earlier. Excluding a one-time tax benefit of $9 million, earnings were 96 cents a share, in the most recent period. The company previously forecast earnings of 93 cents to 95 cents a share. Analysts' forecasts had ranged from 94 cents to 97 cents, with a consensus of 95 cents, according to tracking firm Thomson Financial/First Call. Pepsi Bottling said it still sees full-year volume and net revenue per case growth of 3 per cent, and it refined its full-year earnings estimate to $1.86 to $1.88 per share, from the previous view of $1.84 to $1.88 per share. "The volume gain is definitely coming on the noncarbonated side,''​ John Faucher, beverage industry analyst at J.P. Morgan, said. But he noted that Code Red has also been a big seller, even with little initial advertising by PepsiCo. Youth-oriented soft drink Mountain Dew Code Red, a recent addition to PepsiCo's lineup, has been a strong performer and Pepsi Bottling plans to introduce take-home packages of Code Red during the fourth quarter, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer John Cahill said in a statement. Cahill was named CEO last month and succeeded Weatherup, who has stayed on as chairman. Shares of Pepsi Bottling closed up about 17 cents at $48.17 on Tuesday. The shares have climbed about 21per cent since the beginning of the year.