PepsiCo profit gets a bump as charges fade, though revenue slips in fourth quarter

PepsiCo’s profit rose in the fourth quarter, helped by a lower impairment charge, even as its revenue declined slightly

PepsiCo's profit rose in the fourth quarter thanks in part to lower charges, though revenue declined slightly.

The food and beverage company also said Friday that it is boosting its annual dividend by 7% and plans to buy back about $1 billion of its shares.

For the three months ended Dec. 30, PepsiCo earned $1.3 billion, or 94 cents per share. That compares with $518 million, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding an impairment charge and other items, earnings were $1.78 per share. The performance topped the $1.72 per share analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected.

Revenue slipped to $27.86 billion from $28 billion, missing Wall Street's estimate of $28.24 billion.