ConAgra Shareholders Cheer Q3 Results

Shares of ConAgra Foods, Inc. CAG gained more than 2 percent early Thursday morning after the company reported its third quarter results. ConAgra said that it earned $0.68 per share in the third quarter on revenue of $2.924 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $0.58 per share on revenue of $2.86 billion. ConAgra noted that its Consumer Foods segment saw its operating profit rise to $291 million from $266 million a year ago due to a favorable price/mix, good productivity and lower commodity input costs. The company's Commercial Foods segment saw its operating profit rise 21 percent from a year ago to $175 million due to increased global volumes and the lapping of the West Coast port labor dispute. Sean Connolly, CEO of ConAgra Foods commented, "Our results for the quarter exceeded our expectations as our actions to drive improved profitability continued to take hold. Our focus on improving price/mix and driving efficiencies is enabling us to enhance our overall fundamentals in both of our segments resulting in solid comparable operating profit growth and expanding operating margins."