Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. reported better-than-expected quarterly results yesterday, helped by cost-cutting and productivity improvements.

The largest bottler of PepsiCo Inc. drinks posted a fourth-quarter net loss of €210 million, or €0.995 per share, compared with a year-earlier net profit of €62 million.

The bottler earned 30 cents per share. Analysts on average were expecting 25 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net revenue fell to €2.9 billion from €3.1 billion.

Total volume fell seven per cent in the quarter as the global economic slowdown depressed consumer spending. Volume fell seven per cent in North America and six per cent in Europe.

Pepsi Bottling forecast 2009 earnings of $2.15 to $2.25 per share, excluding restructuring charges but including a hit of 18 cents per share from currency exchange rates. It expects revenue to grow at a low single-digit percentage rate, excluding currency fluctuations.

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