CAMDEN, N.J. - The Campbell Soup Co. says it made a profit of US$113 million, or 33 cents per share during the fourth quarter, when the temperature rises and its soup sales traditionally drop.
Sales did fall by one per cent, but improved margins helped Campbell top Wall Street's profit expectations.
Net income rose 63 per cent compared with the same period last year. Excluding one-time items from 2009, including a charge for nontangible assets, profit rose 7 per cent.
Sales for the quarter were $1.52 billion, down 1 per cent.
Campbell also said it expects per-share profit to rise 5 per cent to 7 per cent in 2011. That's in line with its long-term targets. But the company is citing challenging conditions for expected sales growth of 2 per cent to 3 per cent, just below those targets.