New CEO Ramon Laguarta claimed PepsiCo’s first-quarter results were “emblematic of a number of key strengths”, after the company reported steady revenue growth for the first three months of the year.
The company turned over $12.88 billion – up 2.6% on the first quarter of last year – thanks to particularly strong organic growth within Frito-Lay North America, PepsiCo Beverages North America and all of the business’ international units.
Laguarta, who became CEO in October, later told investors that the good results were indicative of “the health and resilience” of PepsiCo’s categories, brands and portfolio.
“We are pleased with our results for the first quarter,” he said. “While adverse foreign exchange translation negatively impacted our reported net revenue performance, our underlying organic revenue growth accelerated to more than 5% in the quarter. Frito-Lay North America and each of our international divisions delivered particularly strong operating performance, and PepsiCo Beverages North America generated sequential quarterly net revenue acceleration.
“We are equally pleased with the progress we are making on our ambitious agenda to invest to build capabilities, strengthen our brands, and add capacity to grow. With our strong start to the year and good momentum on our key priorities, we remain confident in achieving the 2019 financial targets we communicated earlier this year.”
The strong first quarter follows a fourth quarter of 2018 – Laguarta’s first as CEO – in which PepsiCo recorded similarly respectable growth.
Since the start of the year, it has delivered a number of steps that have helped bolster its portfolio: in January it revealed plans for the world’s first nitrogen-infused cola before acquiring the protein and wellness brand CytoSport from Hormel Foods.
In March, the company appointed Paula Santilli, the current president of its Mexico PepsiCo Foods division, as the new chief executive officer of its Latin American unit.
The appointment, effective from May, sees Santilli replace former Latin America division head Laxman Narasimhan, who was poached to join Laguarta’s management team in the role of chief commercial officer.
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