Campbell Soup Q1 Earnings Top Expectations

reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal first quarter on Tuesday. The Camden, New Jersey-based company reported quarterly net earnings of $194 million, or $0.62 per share, compared to $248 million, or $0.78 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding items, the company earned $0.95 per share. Its sales slipped 2 percent to $2.203 billion. Analysts were projecting earnings of $0.76 per share on revenue of $2.21 billion. The average estimate among 14 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.77 per share and revenue of $2.21 billion. Sales for Americas Simple Meals and Beverages segment slipped 2 percent to $1.302 billion in the quarter, while Global Biscuits and Snacks sales shrank 6 percent to $652 million. Campbell Fresh segment sales rose 8 percent to $249 million. Gross margin shrank to 34.3 percent from 35.3 percent. Marketing and selling expenses slipped 7 percent to $226 million in the quarter. Denise Morrison, Campbell's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We're encouraged by our first-quarter performance. While organic sales for the quarter were comparable to a solid prior year, we recognize that we have more work ahead to improve our growth trajectory. I am particularly pleased that we delivered a third consecutive quarter of adjusted gross margin expansion with improved execution in our supply chain. We drove strong adjusted EBIT and EPS performance across the company. Given an improved margin outlook for the year, we raised guidance for adjusted EBIT and EPS, while we lowered sales guidance to reflect increased currency headwinds." For fiscal 2016, the company now expects adjusted earnings to rise by 4 percent to 7 percent, and revenue to change by -1 percent to 0 percent. Campbell shares rose 1.93 percent to $50.75 in pre-market trading.