UPDATE: Campbell Soup Posts Rise In FQ3 Earnings, Lowers FY14 Guidance

Campbell Soup Co (NYSE: CPB) reported a rise in its fiscal third-quarter earnings and cut its FY14 forecast.Campbell Soup's quarterly earnings surged to $184 million, or $0.58 per share, versus $169 million, or $0.53 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding special items, it earned $0.62 per share, up from $0.58 per share. Its sales rose 1% to $1.97 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.59 per share on sales of $2 billion. Campbell Soup's sales for US Simple Meals rose 7% y/y to $672 million in the quarter, while sales of US Sauces climbed 25%.Sales of “Campbell's” condensed soups fell 3%, while sales of ready-to-serve soups slipped 1% in the quarter.Denise Morrison, Campbell's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “While we delivered growth in third-quarter earnings, our organic sales growth of 1 percent reflected mixed performance and fell short of our expectations.”Campbell Soup now expects FY14 sales from continuing operations to increase around 3%, versus its earlier range of 4% to 5%. It projects earnings per share to be at the low end of its earlier forecast of $2.53 to $2.58 per share.Campbell Soup shares fell 4.70% to $43.00 in pre-market trading.