PepsiCo price hikes lead to strong third-quarter earnings

Published

2 years ago

October 27, 2023

admin

Price hikes lifted PepsiCo’s profits in the third quarter, but the company says those increases are likely to moderate in the coming year.

Pepsi raised prices 11% in the July-September period, the seventh straight quarter that the Purchase, New York, company has increased prices by double-digits.

The higher prices took a toll on demand, with sales volumes down 2.5%.

PepsiCo said some of that volume decline is strategic.

The company said it has been shrinking package sizes to meet consumer demand for convenience and portion control.

Units are growing much faster than volume, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said Tuesday in a conference call with investors.

But there is also some consumer pushback on prices. Consumers are looking for value and, in some cases, are trading down to cheaper stores.

I do think that we see the consumer right now being more selective, PepsiCo’s Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said Tuesday on a conference call with investors.

Still, Johnston said convenience store sales and food service sales, which usually weaken in times of high consumer stress, are strong.

Johnston said Pepsi continues to see higher prices for commodities like grain and cooking oil.

In 2024, Pepsi expects inflation to be slightly higher than the 2% to 3% it was accustomed to before the pandemic.

Consumers should expect to see price increases roughly in line with inflation, he said.

Pepsi is watching the growing use of weight loss drugs like Ozempic, but so far their impact on the business has been negligible, Laguarta said.

They could be outweighed by other trends, including rising incomes in many countries and the growing popularity of snacking in place of meals.

Were seeing a lot of tailwinds that will continue to drive our categories, he said.

Pepsi shares were up 1.5% in morning trading.

In the third quarter, Frito-Lay North America sales volumes dropped 0.5% during the July-September period as net prices rose 8%.

North American beverage sales volumes dropped 6% as prices rose 12%.

Sales volumes in Europe were flat. Sales volumes in Latin America dropped 5%.

Net pricing includes price hikes as well as changes in the mix of products sold and smaller package sizes.

In prepared remarks Tuesday, PepsiCo said consumers are gravitating toward smaller packages for convenience and portion control.

Net revenue was $23.4 billion, the company said Tuesday. That was in line with Wall Streets expectations, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Net income for Pepsi rose 14% to $3.1 billion, or $2.24 per share.

That beat the $2.15 per share that analysts had forecast.

Pepsi now expects its full-year earnings per share to increase 13%, up from previous projections of 12%, due to the strength of its sales and cost-cutting efforts.

Bhutan should embrace decentralized identity systems

Published

30 mins ago

July 17, 2025

admin

Bhutan should embrace decentralized identity systems

Bhutan’s unique naming culture and values of sovereignty make it a strong candidate for adopting blockchain-based identity systems.

Pope ‘deeply saddened’ by deaths at sole Catholic church in Gaza after Israeli strike

Published

30 mins ago

July 17, 2025

admin

Pope 'deeply saddened' by deaths at sole Catholic church in Gaza after Israeli strike

The Pope has said he is “deeply saddened” by the deaths of three people in an Israeli strike on the only Catholic church in Gaza.

A further nine people were wounded when the Gaza’s Holy Family Church was hit, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.

“On behalf of the entire Church of the Holy Land, we extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families, and from here, we offer our prayers for the swift and full recovery of the wounded,” the statement reads.

“The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place.

“However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza.”

Parish priest Father Gabriele Romanelli, an Argentinian who used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the conflict in Gaza, was lightly injured in the attack.

In a telegram for the victims, Pope Leo said he was “deeply saddened” and called for “an immediate ceasefire”.

The Pope expressed his “profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region,” according to the telegram, which was signed by the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, told the Vatican News website that the church was shelled by a tank.

“What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church”, he said

The church was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the wounded.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was “aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review”.

“The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites,
and regrets any damage caused to them,” the statement added.

Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement on X that the results of the investigation would be published.

It also said the country did not target churches or religious sites and regretted harm to them or civilians.

The previous pope, Francis, spoke almost daily with Gaza church. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war.

At least 20 more people were killed on Thursday by Israeli attacks across the besieged enclave, medics said.

Throughout the 21-month war, more than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military campaign, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

Israel launched a retaliatory campaign against Hamas following the militant group’s 7 October 2023 attacks, during which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

World

Syria’s president vows to protect Druze population after Israel airstrikes – as new ceasefire begins

Published

30 mins ago

July 17, 2025

admin

Syria's president vows to protect Druze population after Israel airstrikes - as new ceasefire begins

Syria’s president has said protecting the rights of the Druze population is “our priority” after Israel warned it would destroy forces attacking the minority.

In a televised statement early today, Ahmed al Sharaa told the Druze “we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party”.

Several hundred people have reportedly been killed this week in the south of Syria in violence involving local fighters, government authorities and Bedouin tribes.

Following the president’s announcement and a ceasefire agreement, Syrian government forces on Thursday largely withdrew from the volatile southern province of Sweida.

Under the terms of the agreement, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security.

As the violence escalated in Sweida, Israel launched airstrikes, including attacks on Wednesday on the defence ministry in Damascus and a target near the presidential palace.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has pledged to “act resolutely against any terrorist threat on its borders”.

The Druze population follow an offshoot of Islam and are estimated to number about one million, spread between Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Sharaa – Syria’s interim leader after President Assad fled last year – gave a televised statement on Wednesday telling the Druze “we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party”.

“We are not among those who fear the war,” he added.

“We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction,” said the president.

He also claimed Israel has “consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime”.

Israel has accused the Syrian regime of being barely disguised jihadists – despite warming ties with Western countries such as the UK and US.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as of Wednesday morning, more than 300 people had been killed in the flare-up of violence.

Around 1,000 Druze people broke through a fence into southern Syria on Wednesday in a bid to help, according to The Times of Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu urged people not to cross into Syria and Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir warned they would not “allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold”.

The UN Security Council will discuss the situation today, despite the US secretary of state saying yesterday that America had brokered an end to the violence.

“We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria,” Marco Rubio said on social media.

“We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.”