PepsiCo profit rises more than expected on snack sales

Shares rose 2.1 percent to $86.55 in premarket trading.

The maker of Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay snacks and Tropicana juice said that excluding the impact of currency translation and changes to PEPSICO (PEP.NY)s business, revenue rose 4 percent.

Overall revenue in the first quarter ended March 22 was $12.62 billion, above the $12.43 billion Wall Street was expecting, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E.S.

PepsiCo's sales of food in the Americas rose 5 percent, led by gains in Latin America. Total snacks volume grew 2 percent.

The company, which is under pressure from activist investor Nelson Peltz to separate its beverage and snacks businesses, said net income was $1.22 billion, or 79 cents per share, in the first quarter, up from $1.08 billion, or 69 cents per share a year earlier.

Excluding items such as restructuring charges, PepsiCo earned 83 cents per share, 8 cents more than analysts expected.

One weak spot for the company continued to be soda sales. In North America, its soft drink volume fell 1 percent.

PepsiCo has been battling declining soda sales in the United States, as health-conscious consumers switch to non-carbonated beverages such as juices and health drinks.

The company maintained its previous forecast for the full year and still expects organic revenue to rise by a mid-single digit percentage this year.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)