Campbell Soup Lowers Outlook After Weak 3Q Sales

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) lowered its fiscal 2014 sales guidance on Monday after it said third-quarter revenue fell below expectations despite new soup launches and promotions.

The Camden, N.J.-based soup and snacks maker reported earnings of $184 million, or 58 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $169 million, or 53 cents.

Adjusted for one-time items, Campbell, which also makes Prego pasta sauce and Goldfish baked snacks, said it earned 62 cents, topping average analyst estimates of 59 cents in a Thomson Reuters poll.

However, revenue for the three months ended April 27 was $1.97 billion, virtually flat from $1.96 billion a year ago and just missing the Street’s view of $2 billion.

“While we delivered growth in third-quarter earnings, our organic sales growth of 1% reflected mixed performance and fell short of our expectations,” Campbell CEO Denise Morrison said in a statement.

Shares of the food giant fell 3% to $43.76 in recent trade.

Campbell now expects adjusted EPS for the full year to be at the low end of the previously-provided guidance of 2% to 4% growth, or $2.53 to $2.58.

It also lowered its sales view, now expecting sales to grow roughly 3%, below an earlier range of 4% to 5%. Analysts are calling for fiscal 2014 adjusted EPS of $2.53 on sales of $8.35 billion.