April 23 (Reuters) - PepsiCo ( PEP ) beat Wall Street

expectations for first-quarter revenue and profit on Tuesday as

demand held steady for the soda and snacks giant's Tropicana

juices and Cheetos in its international markets.

Consumers have shelled out money for PepsiCo's ( PEP ) Lays chips

and 7UP products across markets including Europe, Asia Pacific

and China, helping offset a slowdown witnessed in its major

market United States.

PepsiCo's ( PEP ) international business accounted for about 40% of

its total fiscal 2023 revenue, while its North America

businesses accounted for the remaining.

Several rounds of price hikes in the U.S. have led consumers

to push back on PepsiCo's ( PEP ) products as sticky inflation makes

customers cautious about spending.

PepsiCo ( PEP ) also maintained its fiscal 2024 forecasts of organic

sales growth of 4% and core profit expectation of $8.15 per

share.

The company's shares were down marginally in premarket

trading.

First-quarter sales at PepsiCo's ( PEP ) largest business, its North

America beverage unit, rose 1%, while organic volume fell 5%.

Total sales at its Quaker Foods North America unit fell 24%

following Quaker product recalls first made in December in the

U.S. due to a potential Salmonella contamination.

PepsiCo ( PEP ) executives said they expect the company's North

America businesses to gradually improve as impacts associated

with product recalls moderate.

Average prices jumped 5% for the quarter ended March 23.

Organic volume slipped 2%, compared with a fall of 4% in the

fourth quarter of 2023.

"There is clearly plenty of wariness among shareholders, who

are keen to see the tide start to turn on volumes in the United

States in the near future," Susannah Streeter, head of money and

markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.

PepsiCo's ( PEP ) first-quarter net revenue rose 2.3% to $18.25

billion, beating LSEG estimates of $18.07 billion.

Excluding items, PepsiCo ( PEP ) earned $1.61 per share, topping

expectations of $1.52.