PepsiCo sees higher merger savings

Article Excerpt

PEPSICO INC. $63 (New York symbol PEP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $100.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pepsico.com) saw its sales jump 33.8% in 2010, to $57.8 billion from $43.2 billion in 2009. That’s mainly because of its 2010 purchases of its two main soft-drink bottling firms, Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. and PepsiAmericas Inc., for $7.8 billion in cash and shares. Without merger-related costs, PepsiCo’s 2010 earnings rose 14.2%, to $6.7 billion from $5.8 billion in 2009. Earnings per share rose 11.3%, to $4.13 from $3.71, on more shares outstanding. Combining plants and administrative functions should save the company $550 million a year by the end of 2012. That’s up from its original target of $400 million. These savings should help PepsiCo offset higher prices for corn and other ingredients at its snack-food operations. PepsiCo is a buy. buy…