Campbell Soup Slides By With Q1 Earnings

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB | CPB Price Prediction) released its fiscal first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Friday. The company said that it had $0.78 in earnings per share (EPS) and $2.18 billion in revenue. That compared with consensus estimates of $0.71 in EPS and $2.19 billion in revenue, as well as the $0.79 per share and $2.69 billion posted in the same period of last year.

In October, Campbell has completed the sale of the European chips business. The results of this business up through the time of sale have been reported as continuing operations within the Snacks segment. This also had an impact on the fiscal 2020 outlook.

Meals & Beverage segment sales decreased 3% to $1.2 billion, driven primarily by the timing of U.S. soup shipments, as well as declines in foodservice, offset partly by gains in Prego pasta sauces.

Snacks segment sales increased 2% to $1.0 billion, driven primarily by gains in Goldfish crackers, fresh bakery products and Pepperidge Farm cookies, as well as gains in Cape Cod and Kettle Brand potato chips, offset partly by declines in the partner brands within the Snyder’s-Lance portfolio.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2020, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $2.50 to $2.55 and net sales growth of −1% to 1%. Consensus estimates call for $2.52 in EPS and $8.18 billion in revenue for the full year.

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Mark Clouse, Campbell’s president and CEO, commented:

Our performance to start the new fiscal year was largely in-line with our expectations and builds upon the solid foundation we set in fiscal 2019. I was especially pleased that our in-market consumption grew more than 1% in measured channels. Additionally, we grew soup share for the first time in 10 quarters, one of the early signs of progress in our three-year journey to revitalize this business. Strong in-market consumption on U.S. soup was offset by the timing of shipments related to the Thanksgiving holiday. In Snacks, we delivered another quarter of strong marketplace performance with 8 of 9 power brands growing or holding share, while we continued to make steady progress integrating the business and delivering cost synergies.

Shares of Campbell Soup was last seen up about 1.6% on Wednesday at $48.35, in a 52-week range of $32.03 to $48.39. The consensus price target is $42.77.
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