Increased sales and productivity improvements contributed to a 4% increase in income during the first quarter at Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
For the quarter ended March 31, the company had income of $106 million, equal to 52c per share on the common stock, which compared with income of $102 million, or 48c per share, during the same quarter of the previous year. Sales for the quarter were $1,380 million, up 1% from $1,362 million during the same quarter of the previous year.
“Once again we grew both volume and dollar share in CSD’s in Nielsen-measured markets, and we continued to expand distribution on our tea and juice portfolios,” said Larry Young, president and chief executive officer. “Despite continued category headwinds, a fragile U.S. consumer and abnormally cold weather across the Northeast and Midwest, our business results remained solid for the quarter.
The launch of the Core 4 and RC TEN platform is well under way, and we have seen some early success in the accounts where we currently have distribution. The TEN advertising campaign began airing in mid-March, letting consumers know that they can get both great taste and lower calories with TEN. I remain confident that we will deliver our commitments for the year as our organization continues to embrace Rapid Continuous Improvement and our TEN platform continues to gain traction with both consumers and retailers.”
The company said it expects full-year net sales growth of about 3% and earnings per share to be in the range of $3.04 to $3.12, excluding the impact of commodity mark-to-market gains and losses.
