PepsiCo not worried by U.S crisis, ups India investment
PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) does not expect the U.S. financial crisis to hit its business and will invest a further $500 million in India over the next three years as part of its focus on fast-growing emerging markets, its chief executive said on Sunday.
But high commodity prices and global inflation remained a worry for the maker of Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay snacks and Quaker Oatmeal and could weigh on margins in the short-term, Indra Nooyi, also the chairman of the company, told reporters at a news conference near India’s capital.
“The problems of Wall Street has not rippled over to the main street,” she said, ahead of a two-day meeting of the company’s 26-member senior leadership team in India.
“Our business continues to be quite robust.”
“We generate a lot of cash faxless payday loan. Definitely it is very, very healthy. I don’t believe the problem of Wall Street will ripple over to companies like us. I am happy to say that.”
Soaring commodity prices have put pressure on food and beverage makers, even though PepsiCo’s wide range of products and business in many countries have helped it to have an easier time offsetting the industry wide pressure.
However, Nooyi said it might not be possible to cover all the cost pressures through price increases in the short-term.
“When you have 10-11 percent inflation, it’s very hard to cover all of the inflation through pricing in the short-term as you have to worry about the value for the consumer,” she said.
Filed under: money by Forest