PepsiCo Reports Third Quarter 2015 Results, Increases Full Year Core Constant Currency Earnings Outlook

PURCHASE, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo, Inc. today reported organic revenue growth of 7.4 percent and core earnings per share of $1.35 for the third quarter.

Summary of Third Quarter Financial Performance:

• Organic revenue grew 7.4 percent and reported net revenue declined 5 percent. Foreign exchange translation had a 12-percentage-point unfavorable impact on reported net revenue.
• Core gross margin and core operating margin expanded 120 basis points and 60 basis points, respectively. Operating margin improvement reflects the implementation of effective revenue management strategies and productivity initiatives, partially offset by increased advertising and marketing expense as a percent of sales. Reported gross margin expanded 115 basis points while reported operating margin declined 785 basis points, primarily reflecting the Venezuela charges.
• Core constant currency operating profit increased 12 percent. Reported operating profit declined 50 percent and reflects the Venezuela charges, unfavorable foreign exchange translation, a charge to write off the recorded value of the Tingyi-Asahi Beverages Holding Co. Ltd. (TAB) call option, a pension-related settlement benefit, restructuring charges, and the mark-to-market net impact on commodity hedges.
• Company's core effective tax rate was 24.6 percent, which compares to 24.2 percent in the prior-year quarter. The reported effective tax rate was 54.5 percent, above the prior-year quarter of 24.0 percent, primarily due to the impact of the Venezuela charges.
• Core EPS was $1.35 and reported EPS was $0.36. Core EPS excludes $0.92 per share of Venezuela charges, a $0.05 charge to write off the recorded value of the TAB call option, $0.03 per share related to restructuring charges, a $0.01 mark-to-market net impact on commodity hedges, partially offset by a $0.02 benefit for a pension-related settlement.

Summary of Year to Date 2015 Financial Performance:

• Organic revenue grew 5.8 percent and reported net revenue declined 5 percent. Foreign exchange translation had a 10-percentage-point unfavorable impact on reported net revenue.
• Core gross margin and core operating margin expanded 125 basis points and 45 basis points, respectively. Operating margin improvement reflects the implementation of effective revenue management strategies and productivity initiatives, partially offset by increased advertising and marketing expense as a percent of sales. Reported gross margin expanded 105 basis points while reported operating margin declined 240 basis points, primarily reflecting the Venezuela charges.
• Core constant currency operating profit increased 9 percent. Reported operating profit was down 19 percent and reflects the Venezuela charges, unfavorable foreign exchange translation, a charge to write off the recorded value of the TAB call option, a pension-related settlement benefit, restructuring charges, and the mark-to-market net impact on commodity hedges.
• Company's core effective tax rate was 24.8 percent, which compares to 24.9 percent in the prior-year period. The reported effective tax rate was 31.4 percent, above the prior-year period of 25.0 percent.
• Core EPS was $3.50 and reported EPS was $2.50. Core EPS excludes $0.91 per share of Venezuela charges, $0.06 per share related to restructuring charges, a $0.05 charge to write off the recorded value of the TAB call option, partially offset by a $0.02 benefit for a pension-related settlement.
• Cash flow provided by operating activities was $6.8 billion year to date, an increase of 1% from the prior-year period. Free cash flow excluding certain items was $5.6 billion year to date, an increase of 4% from the prior-year period. Full report.