http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/business/pepsico-posts-5-gain-in-net-income.html 2014-10-09 17:11:43 PepsiCo Posts 5% Gain in Net Income The company attributed its growth to strong sales in foreign markets and new promotions. === PepsiCo Net income in the quarter Based on its performance so far this year, the company raised its expectation of growth by 1 percentage point for its fiscal year, to 9 percent. “We are pleased with the results for the quarter, particularly with the challenges we see around the globe,” Indra Nooyi, the chief executive of PepsiCo, said during a conference call on Thursday morning with investment analysts. Revenue for the quarter increased 2 percent to $17.2 billion. Ms. Nooyi noted that consumer spending remained “sluggish” in many of the company’s biggest markets and that currency swings also could dent earnings. She said the company would continue to reduce expenses by making investments in new manufacturing equipment “to replace labor with capital,” streamlining and consolidating back-office operations and wringing more cost out of its distribution system. Investment analysts had not anticipated such strong earnings growth. Food sales in general are stagnant, and sales coming out of the long aisles in the center of most conventional grocery stores, where Frito Lay and Quaker products made by PepsiCo sit, have been abysmal. But Ms. Nooyi said promotions and new products had helped make the company the largest contributor to grocery store sales growth so far this year, according to IRI Symphony, a data research firm. She cited a program, Fuel for Battle, that offers consumers buying specially marked packages of Doritos and Mountain Dew access to codes that allow them to win accessories like goggles, which can be used in conjunction with a highly anticipated new iteration of the video game Call of Duty, called Call of Duty Advanced Warfare. In Colombia, consumers buying Lays products may find a coupon hidden inside that wins them 100,000 free Pepsis. And regions like Middle East and Latin America showed stronger revenue growth. New innovations like chips with deeper ridges and a variety of new Quaker granola products also helped sustain sales, Ms. Nooyi said.