Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) shares rose sharply on a narrow earnings beat and raised sales forecast for the full year.
The iconic Camden, New Jersey-based company reported a 37% increase in adjusted EPS to $0.70 and a 7% jump in net sales from the prior year to $2.1 billion. Analysts had anticipated $0.61 and $2.04B, respectively. Net sales in the snacks segment were specifically noted as a drive of growth, with Snyder's of Hanover pretzels, Kettle Brand potato, and Goldfish crackers carrying a 13% sales increase and 25% operating earnings improvement in the segment from the prior year.
"As expected, we had a strong recovery across the business in the quarter with high-single-digit sales growth driven by sustained consumer demand for our brands and significantly improved supply,” CEO Mark Clouse said. “Our improved supply chain execution along with inflation-driven pricing began to mitigate the margin pressure we have experienced over the last 12 months.”
He added that while inflation is expected to remain an issue moving forward, pricing actions are expected to mitigate the adverse impact.
Management raised full-year net sales guidance to flat to a 1% gain from previous expectations of an up to 2% drop. Also, the company reaffirmed adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $2.75 to $2.85 against a consensus estimate of $2.78.
Shares rose 3% in pre-market trading.
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