Says India, Asia key factors in high 2009 growth.
Earlier this week, The Coca-Cola Company had acknowledged India as a key factor in its growth during 2009. Today, its global arch-rival, PepsiCo, said the same thing.
PepsiCo, the beverage and snackfood giant, said its fourth quarter (October-December 2009) profit nearly doubled, helped by strong growth in Asia. Its beverage volumes grew by eight per cent over the year, led by 32 per cent growth in India. Volume grew five per cent in the quarter, led by growth of 21 per cent in India (and high single-digit growth in Thailand and Egypt).
The growth was partially offset by a decline in China, negatively impacted by a shift in the timing of the Chinese New Year. The business also posted volume and value share gains in the Middle East.
Coca-Cola had said its 55 per cent growth in net profit for the same quarter was due to the way India and China led volume growth, with rises of 20 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively. As for brand-wise sales, Coca-Cola India led in volume growth, a surge of 22 per cent, well above China’s. The beverage giant’s growth in emerging markets coincided with a decline in its home turf of North America; US volume sales in the quarter, for instance, were down by one per cent, a trend on for some time now.
As for PepsiCo, snack volume sales grew 13 per cent in the quarter, reflecting double-digit gains in India, Pakistan, Egypt and Thailand, as well as four percentage points of growth from acquisitions. The Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region, too, delivered strong growth in 2009, with net revenue up 12 per cent and core operating profit up 23 per cent. Acquisitions contributed one percentage point to net revenue growth and 10 percentage points to core operating profit growth.
“In 2009, strong execution of PepsiCo’s operational priorities enabled us to deliver healthy revenue and profit growth and generate strong cash flow, despite the macroeconomic challenges across much of the world. Our teams demonstrated their agility in balancing innovation and value, which enabled us to maintain consumer momentum while driving margin expansion. In addition, we continued to invest in R&D, infrastructure and innovation to sustain our long-term growth”, said Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo’s chairman and chief operating officer.
PepsiCo said it stood by its earlier earnings expectations for the coming year and said it still hoped to complete a $7.8 billion acquisition of its two largest bottlers by the end of the month.
