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 The company on Tuesday said its quarterly profit fell 30
percent, hurt by a later Thanksgiving, weaker demand for its biggest products
and a rise in marketing costs. A recall of its recently acquired Plum Organics
products also hurt results and the company cut its outlook for the year. Shares of Campbell Soup fell 6 percent to close at $39.20. Over the past year,
its stock is up more than 13 percent. Campbell Soup, based in Camden, N.J., has been trying to reshape its image as a
purveyor of shelf-stable canned and packaged products that are sold in the
center aisles of supermarkets. The push comes as people increasingly reach for
foods they feel are fresh, migrating toward the perimeters of grocery stores
where produce, meats and dairy are sold.
 To better connect with Millennials who tend to shun canned products, Campbell
introduced soups in bright, new plastic pouches and dinner sauces in black
packages meant to conjure the blackboard menus at cafes. But the company is
still facing competition from the growing prepared foods sections in
supermarkets and other outlets that offer fresh, hot soups. In a call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Craig Owens declined to specify
what percentage of it soup sales come from such new products. "It's still pretty small. It's not a very significant portion of our soup
sales," he said. CEO Denise Morrison also cited the "proliferation of specialty beverages and
packaged fresh juices" for putting its V8 beverage category under pressure. Like
its soups, V8 drinks are shelf-stable and don't have to be refrigerated until
they are opened. Morrison said she doesn't expect the beverages to be a growth
driver this year. As the company works to refresh its core offerings, Morrison is also working to
expand into new areas. Campbell's recent acquisitions of Bolthouse Farms juices
and Plum Organics baby food were intended to give the company a foothold in the
faster-growing category known as "fresh packaged goods." But Campbell has
already stumbled and earlier this month recalled some Plum Organics products
because they were spoiling unexpectedly. For the quarter, U.S. soup sales declined 6 percent and beverages fell 8
percent. The company said that the later Thanksgiving this year hurt results,
with some shipments being pushed off to the current quarter.
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But Morrison also noted that retailers were adjusting to a weak
consumer environment.
Sales for the global baking and snack division increased 6 percent.
Campbell, which also makes Pepperidge Farm, said it plans a national
launch of Goldfish-branded macaroni and cheese this quarter.
Campbell Soup Co. earned $172 million, or 54 cents per share, for
the period ended Oct. 27. That's down from $245 million, or 78 cents
per share, in the fiscal first quarter a year earlier.
Excluding one-time costs, it earned 66 cents per share. That was 20
cents shy of analyst expectations, according to FactSet.
Revenue dipped 2 percent to $2.17 billion, also short of the $2.29
billion Wall Street expected.
Campbell Soup now expects adjusted earnings for the fiscal year
ending on Aug. 3, 2014 to increase between 2 percent and 4 percent,
or $2.53 to $2.58 per share. Its prior guidance called for adjusted
earnings growth of 3 percent to 5 percent.
Revenue is forecast to rise by 4 percent to 5 percent.
Analysts expect earnings of $2.59 per share on revenue of $8.48
billion for the year.
[Associated
Press CANDICE CHOI and MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writers]
Follow Candice Choi at
http://twitter.com/candicechoi.
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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