Campbell Soup Q1 Adj. Profit Tops View; Reaffirms FY17 Outlook

(RTTNews) - Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) reported that its net earnings attributable to the company for the first-quarter of fiscal 2017 rose to $292 million or $0.94 per share from $194 million or $0.62 per share in the prior year.

The latest-quarter results reflected pre-tax pension and postretirement mark-to-market losses of $20 million, or $0.04 per share, and pre-tax charges related to cost savings initiatives of $9 million, or $0.02 per share. The prior-year quarter included pre-tax pension and postretirement mark-to-market losses of $128 million, or $0.26 per share, and pre-tax charges related to cost savings initiatives of $36 million, or $0.07 per share.

Excluding items impacting comparability in both periods, adjusted earnings per share increased 5 percent to $1.00 per share, compared with $0.95 per share in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.95 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Denise Morrison, Campbell's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Looking ahead, I remain optimistic about plans to accelerate growth with improving trends in U.S. soup and the upcoming launch of Well Yes! ready-to-serve soup, continued strong performance in Pepperidge Farm and a return to growth in Campbell Fresh. Our guidance for the year remains unchanged."

Sales of $2.202 billion were comparable to the prior year as the favorable impact of currency translation was offset by the decline in organic sales. Organic sales decreased 1 percent driven by declines in Campbell Fresh, partly offset by gains in Global Biscuits and Snacks. Wall Street expected revenues of $2.20 billion.

Looking ahead for fiscal year 2017, Campbell still expects sales to increase by 0 to 1 percent, adjusted EBIT to increase by 1 to 4 percent, and adjusted EPS to increase by 2 to 5 percent, or $3.00 to $3.09 per share. This guidance assumes the impact from currency translation will be nominal. Analysts expect annual earnings of $3.04 per share.