It was a disappointing second quarter for PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) and WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP) as the companies saw profit declines and missed estimates, respectively.
Take a look.
PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP): PepsiCo’s second-quarter earnings declined 21 percent, thanks to a rising U.S. dollar and a Chinese bottling transaction. The company saw its core earnings exceed expectations, as higher prices assisted with organic sales increasing five percent.
In the second quarter, PepsiCo saw a $1.49 billion profit ($0.94 cents a share), down from the $1.89 billion ($1.17 a share) in the previous year. Without acquisition-related charges, derivatives impacts and other items, earnings fell to $1.12 from $1.21, reported the Wall Street Journal.
In addition, revenue fell 2.2 percent to $16.46 billion while organic revenue (excluding currency fluctuations, acquisitions and divestitures) increased five percent; volume expanded by one percent.
Analysts had estimated earnings at $1.09, on $16.5 billion in revenues.
Gross margin declined to 51.9 percent, from 52.7 percent.
The company commented on rising commodity prices, notably corn, which is used in the sweeteners for its drinks but PepsiCo Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said that corn equates to about 10 percent of PepsiCo’s total costs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
On Wednesday, Johnson said on CNBC, “The drought is terrible but corn is less than 10% of our total commodities basket. No commodity individually even accounts for 10% of our basket.”
So with that story, let’s take a look at how PepsiCo’s numbers compared to its rival, Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO). Its net income for the second quarter was $2.79 billion ($1.21 per share). The result is slightly lower from the previous year’s $2.8 billion ($1.20 per share).
With the quarter’s lower revenue, the company attributed it to rising ingredient costs, according to ValueWalk. It had lowered ingredients expenditures to $300 million, down from its previous $350-$450 million forecast. In 2011, Coca Cola’s Chief Executive Officer, Muhtar Kent noted the company increased prices for its products, in order to offset the rising costs for ingredients.
WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP): In the second quarter, the large U.S. health plan missed analysts’ estimates and subsequently cut its full-year forecast. Earnings were $2.04 per share, lower than the estimated $2.08 per share. Net income dropped 8.3 percent to $643.6 million ($1.94 per share), down from $701.6 million ($1.89 per share), from the previous year. Revenue rose to $15.4 billion, up from last year’s $15.1 billion.
The company has estimated its full-year profit between $7.30 to $7.40 a share. Helping the company’s numbers this year, is lower medical costs from 2011, as people were less likely to visit the doctor.
But Ana Gupte, a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst, said with costs steadying in 2012, it’s more difficult for profits to rise. He said via Bloomberg, “Cost trends have been flattening out as opposed to declining. Last year, the whole industry had a really favorable tailwind, whereas this year, it’s been a different story.”
