PepsiAmericas Declares First Quarter Dividend

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PepsiAmericas, Inc. (NYSE: PAS) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a first quarter 2009 dividend of $0.14 per share on PepsiAmericas common stock, an increase from the fourth quarter 2008 dividend of $0.135 per share. The dividend is payable April 1, 2009 to shareholders of record on March 13, 2009. The board reviews the dividend policy on a quarterly basis.

“The dividend reflects our confidence in the cash flow generation and long-term growth of our business.”

“We have increased our quarterly dividend for the past six years, continuing our strong record of returning cash to shareholders,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert C. Pohlad. “The dividend reflects our confidence in the cash flow generation and long-term growth of our business.”

PepsiAmericas is the world's second-largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of PepsiCo beverages. With annual sales of $4.9 billion in 2008, PAS employs over 20,000 people and operates 33 manufacturing facilities and over 175 distribution centers across its markets. PAS serves a significant portion of a 19-state region in the U.S.; Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia; and the Caribbean. For more information on our company, please visit our website at www.pepsiamericas.com.

Cautionary Statement

This release contains certain forward-looking statements of expected future developments, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements in this release refer to our expectations regarding continuing operating improvement and other matters. These forward-looking statements reflect our expectations and are based on currently available data; however, actual results are subject to future risks and uncertainties, which could materially affect actual performance. Risks and uncertainties that could affect such performance include, but are not limited to, the following: competition, including product and pricing pressures; changing trends in consumer tastes; changes in our relationship and/or support programs with PepsiCo and other brand owners; market acceptance of new product and package offerings; weather conditions; cost and availability of raw materials; changing legislation, including tax laws; cost and outcome of environmental claims; availability and cost of capital, including changes in our debt ratings; labor and employee benefit costs; unfavorable foreign currency rate fluctuations; cost and outcome of legal proceedings; integration of acquisitions; failure of information technology systems; and general economic, business and political conditions in the countries and territories where we operate. For further information, please see "Risk Factors" in our 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K.