Campbell Soup Up after Results

Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) shares are rising over 2% in morning trade after the company reported profits quarter ended January that exceeded analyst estimates. Revenues though slightly trailed analyst consensus forecasts.

The company said net income for the three months ended Jan. 29 fell to $205 million, or 64 cents per share. That compares with $239 million, or 72 cents per share, last year. This still exceeded analyst consensus forecasts by 2 cents per share. Revenue edged down nearly 1 percent to $2.11 billion. This was slightly below analyst expectations of $2.12 billion. The company’s performance declined as it faced higher commodity costs and spent more on marketing for its core soup business.

The company also affirmed its previous fiscal 2012 guidance. Campbell expects net sales growth to be between 0 and 2 percent, a decline in adjusted EBIT of between 9 and 7 percent and a decline in adjusted EPS of between 7 and 5 percent, putting adjusted EPS in the range of $2.35 to $2.42, from the 2011 adjusted base of $2.54.

Denise Morrison, Campbell’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “At the midpoint of our fiscal year, we are focused outward on consumers and on executing against our three strategies to return Campbell to sustainable, profitable net sales growth. As we said last July, implementing our new strategic direction will require substantial investment to fund brand-building efforts and a step change in innovation, particularly in U.S. Simple Meals. We are confident that these changes will position Campbell for future success.

Morrison concluded, “We are executing a strategic turnaround in an environment of weak volume and high inflation across the food industry. Our first half has been impacted by headwinds in our beverages and Australian businesses, but we continue to make progress against our key growth strategies. In the second half, we expect improved trends in our beverages and Australian businesses, and in U.S. Soup, we will begin to cycle our change in discounting, providing an opportunity for better sales performance. We will continue to invest in brand building and innovation, and we are on track to achieve our full-year guidance.”

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Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.