PepsiCo expects 4,3 billion dollars profit

By Anastasia Tomazhenkova: A global American beverage and snack company PepsiCo Inc. posts its 2008 profit outlook is unchanged from a previous forecast and that it plans to buy back 4.3 billion dollars in shares this year.

Photo: PepsiCo expects 4,3 billion dollars profit

The Purchase, New York-based company expects to earn 3.72 dollars a share in 2008. Wall Street expects the company to report earnings of 3.73 dollars a share for the year.

PepsiCo, which owns the Frito-Lay snack business, also said it expects full-year cash from operating activities to be about 7.6 billion dollars and capital spending to be about 2.7 billion dollars.

For all of 2007, the company earned 5.66 billion dollars, or 3.41 dollars a share, versus 5.64 billion dollars, or 3.34 dollars a share, in 2006. Revenue rose 12% to 39.47 billion dollars from 35.14 billion dollars.

PepsiCo expected 3% to 5% volume growth, mid- to high-single digit revenue growth and full-year earnings a share of 3.72 dollars in 2008.

Analyst Bill Pecoriello of Morgan Stanley told investors the quarterly results were in line with expectations, and that the company's stock could be better off now that the company has confirmed its outlook for the year.