Campbell Soup forecasts sales above estimates on higher prices
2022.09.01 15:58
FILE PHOTO: Cans of Campbell’s Soup are displayed in a supermarket in New York City, U.S. February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
(Reuters) -Campbell Soup Co forecast annual core sales above estimates on Thursday, even as soaring costs took a bite out of the Prego pasta sauces owner’s bottom line in the fourth quarter.
Packaged food makers have steadily raised prices on everything from cookies to beef jerky as they try to insulate their margins from increased costs ranging from labor and ingredients to transportation without drawing consumer ire.
Campbell has previously announced that it expects inflationary pressures to continue and that a third round of pricing action will take effect on certain categories as fiscal 2023 begins.
The roughly 150-year-old company expects fiscal year 2023 net sales to grow between 4% and 6%, higher than the average analyst estimate of a 2.7% rise.
It also expects adjusted earnings per share between $2.85 and $2.95, compared to expectations of $2.92 for the year.
The company’s net sales rose 6% to about $2.0 billion in the quarter, compared with market estimates of $1.99 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Net earnings attributable to the company plunged to $96 million, or 32 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended July 31, from $288 million, or 95 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, the company earned 56 cents per share, in line with estimates.
