Quarterly net profit at Campbell Soup grew, the world's largest soup maker said today, due to a gain from a legal settlement which helped offset a 2% slide in sales.
Campbell earned a net profit in its fiscal third quarter of $185m, or 59 cents per share, up from $179m, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier.
Adjusted for a $25m gain from a legal settlement and other items, Campbell's earnings fell to $203m, or 65 cents per share, from $206m, or 66 cents per share, the same time last year.
Wall Street analysts had expected Campbell to earn 64 cents per share.
The New Jersey-based company said sales in its third quarter ended May 1 fell by 2% to $1.87 billion from $1.9 billion a year earlier.
The company's chief executive Officer Denise Morrison said she was unsatisfied with third-quarter organic sales growth, citing a weak US soup season and weather-related disruptions to the company's carrot supply.
Still, the company, said it was optimistic for the full year, expecting adjusted earnings per share to grow by 11-13%, up from a previous forecast for 9-12% growth.
