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Empresas y finanzas

Pepsi Bottling profit falls


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pepsi Bottling Group Inc posted a lower quarterly profit on Tuesday, hurt by the absence of a one-time gain in the year-ago period, and raised the low end of its full-year earnings outlook.

    The largest bottler of PepsiCo Inc beverages said net income for the third quarter that ended September 6, was $231 million, or $1.06 per share, down from $260 million, or $1.12 per share, a year ago.

    Profit in the year-ago quarter included a 14 cent-per-share gain due partly to a tax benefit.

    Revenue was $3.81 billion, up from $3.73 billion a year ago for the bottler, which operates in the United States, Canada, Greece, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Turkey.

    The company said it now expects 2008 earnings per share to range from $2.32 to $2.38, compared with a prior forecast that called for $2.30 to $2.38 per share.

    The company left its revenue target unchanged, saying it still expects revenue growth in the mid-single digits.

    Pepsi Bottling, like other beverage companies, has had a difficult summer as U.S. consumers cut back on discretionary spending in the face of high gasoline prices and a weakening economy.

    (Reporting by Martinne Geller, editing by Maureen Bavdek)