By Martinne Geller
NEW YORK (Reuters) - PEPSICO (PEP.NY)Inc
Pepsi said on Friday that it formed a joint venture with Saudi Arabia's Almarai Co <2280.SE>, the Gulf's largest dairy company by market value, to invest in dairy and juice processors in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The venture will be called International Dairy and Juice Ltd and will be 52 percent held by PepsiCo.
"Dairy is an important category," said PepsiCo Chief Financial Officer Richard Goodman in an interview. "We're excited. We had an opportunity to do something that was unusual."
At present, the company's business includes drinks like Pepsi, Gatorade, Tropicana and SoBe Lifewater and foods including Frito-Lay snacks and Quaker oatmeal.
Volume in the North American beverage business fell 6 percent in the fourth quarter, as a recession has made consumers more frugal. Volume in the foods business remained flat. Pepsi reported a sharply lower fourth-quarter profit on Friday, but its results met Wall Street estimates.
Goodman said he is confident the food business will continue to outperform the drinks business, since historically the food business has never suffered that badly.
"There's no substitute (for snacks). You can't turn on your tap and get Doritos," Goodman said, adding: "People are eating more at home, and they're eating our products."
(Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
