Soft drink, snack food and juice giant PepsiCo yesterday said first-quarter profits jumped 18 per cent, led by strong sales of new drinks at its Pepsi-Cola North America division and volume gains across all divisions. PepsiCo said it earned $498 million (€555 million), or 34 cents per share, up from $422 million, or 29 cents, a year earlier. Analysts had forecast earnings of 31-34 cents a share for the quarter.