PepsiCo Inc, "which sent shivers through the investment
community in June when it disclosed that its second-quarter
earnings would be flat, attracted enthusiastic applause on Wall
Street yesterday after it reported third-quarter results that
were better than expected." The company said net income rose
18%, to $541.5M. Revenue for the quarter was up 12%, to $7.06B
from $6.32B. "The one blot on the Pepsi report was performance
at its Pizza Hut chain." Pizza Hut's operating profit dropped
25% during the quarter, to $78.5M (Kenneth Gilpin, N.Y. TIMES,
10/12)....Virgin Cola, Richard Branson's latest enterprise, "was
greeted skeptically yesterday by other soft-drink makers. They
look forward to the competition but wonder how Virgin and Cott,
its Canadian partner, will crack distribution and sales
problems." In London, Diane Summers asks, "What has a cola drink
to do with an airline, radio station, music store or computer
game, and what have any of these activities to do with each
other?" Virgin's corporate affairs dir Will Whitehorn noted that
the Virgin name "does not mean a specific product to the public,
but is associated with fun, friendliness, doing things
differently, quality and price competitiveness." These
attributes, he noted, "mean the brand can be applied to a diverse
range of products" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 10/12). Virgin Cola should
hit stores in Britain within a few months, then expand into the
U.S., the rest of Europe and Japan (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/12).
UN-COLA: In this morning's WALL STREET JOURNAL, William
Power suggests that Snapple Beverage, which closed at 12 1/18
yesterday, could be a good stock purchase again (WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 10/12).
