Pepsi bottler PepsiAmericas Inc, which recently received a buyout offer from the beverage giant, posted a 12 percent fall in profit that still beat Wall Street estimates as strong pricing, cost cuts and growing sales in the United States offset volume declines.

The second biggest Pepsi bottler after Pepsi Bottling Group Inc (PBG.N), also forecast full-year earnings at the high end of its adjusted outlook of $1.83 a share to $1.90 a share.

Despite the impact of a late Easter, demand for carbonated drinks rose moderately in the United States, led by Mountain Dew, the company said, adding that non-carbonated soft drink volumes fell 7 percent, an improvement from full-year 2008 trends.

Productivity and cost initiatives are well on track to deliver the $40 million in cost savings for the year, Chief Executive Robert Pohlad said in a statement.

On April 20, PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N) had offered $6 billion to buy the remainder of the shares it does not already own in Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas. Later, PepsiAmericas said its board formed a special committee of independent directors to review the unsolicited takeover bid by its biggest shareholder.

Pepsi Bottling Group, which posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit and raised its full-year earnings outlook earlier in the month, also appointed a special committee of independent directors to evaluate the takeover bid.

For the first quarter, Minneapolis-based PepsiAmericas posted a net income of $21.7 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with $24.7 million, or 19 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding mark-to-market losses and special charges, the company earned 20 cents a share, while analysts were expecting earnings of 16 cents a share.

Revenue fell 4 percent to $1.06 billion, but net sales in the United States rose 6 percent to $826.6 million.

Overall volumes fell 5.2 percent, reflecting Central and Eastern Europe volume declines of 12.2 percent.

The company' shares, which have gained 70 percent since they touched a year low in October, closed at $24.73 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)

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