PepsiCo Renews Push for Cost Cuts as Currency Erodes Sales

PepsiCo Inc., the world’s largest snack maker and second-largest beverage company, vowed to keep a tight lid on expenses this year as the strong dollar takes a bigger bite out of overseas sales than expected.

The company said on Thursday that it remains on track to achieve $1 billion in cost savings this year and plans to return $8.5 billion to $9 billion to shareholders. Currency effects have made it harder to meet those goals, increasing the urgency to trim expenses and maintain the prices of its snacks and beverages. Exchange rates are expected to reduce earnings by 11 percentage points in 2015, up from a previous projection of 7 percent, PepsiCo said.