Campbell Soup Profit Beats Expectations, While Sales Fall a Bit Shy

Campbell Soup Co. reported on Friday a fiscal third-quarter net profit of $287 million, or 58 cents a share, compared with $292 million, or 58 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, the packaged food company said adjusted earnings per share came in at 62 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 52 cents. Sales slipped 4% to $1.9 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $1.93 billion. Excluding the negative impact of currency translation, sales would have declined 1%, as lower volume was partially offset by lower promotional spending and higher selling prices. For the full fiscal year, the company now expects sales to be closer to the lower end of the previously-provided estimate for a decline of 1% to a rise of 1%, but expects adjusted EPS closer to the higher end of its guidance of $2.32 to $2.38. "Our focus on gross margin performance began to pay dividends, as we expanded margins in a challenging environment," said Chief Executive Denise Morrison. "We also made progress in addressing many of the supply chain issues we faced in the first half." The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has climbed 6.7% year to date, outperforming the S&P 500's 3.5% gain.