Campbell reports its net earnings for the quarter ended April 28, 2013, were $181 million, or $0.57 per share, compared with $177 million, or $0.55 per share, in the prior year. The current and prior years’ reported net earnings included charges associated with restructuring programs. Excluding restructuring and restructuring-related charges, adjusted net earnings increased 8 percent to $195 million, compared with $180 million in the prior year’s quarter, and adjusted net earnings per share increased 11 percent to $0.62 compared with $0.56 in the year-ago quarter. A detailed reconciliation of the reported financial information to the adjusted information is included at the end of this news release.
Denise Morrison, Campbell’s president and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement, “I am very pleased by our results in the third quarter and the strong performances by a number of our key businesses. In U.S. Soup, our condensed, ready-to-serve soups and broth businesses delivered double-digit sales growth. Global Baking and Snacking also posted solid top-line growth across Pepperidge Farm crackers, cookies and bakery, as well as in Arnott’s biscuits. At Bolthouse Farms, we delivered another quarter of strong results in super-premium beverages, carrots and salad dressings.”
“We remain committed to our dual mandate,” Morrison continued. “We are strengthening our core portfolio through consistent excellence in execution, optimized investment and sustaining product innovation. We are also expanding into higher-growth categories, adjacencies and geographies.
“In the third quarter, we drove profitable growth in several of our core North American businesses through successful execution against all of the drivers of demand, including enhanced products, stronger advertising and effective in-store presence. Across our entire portfolio, innovation contributed meaningfully to our growth, including core brand expansions such as new varieties of ‘Campbell’s Chunky’ soups. We are also encouraged by our early breakthrough innovation efforts in U.S. Simple Meals,” said Morrison.
Morris continued, “Our International business was up two percent for the quarter. We continued to drive the expansion of ‘Pepperidge Farm’ products in Canada and began to implement our new manufacturing and distribution arrangements with Grupo Jumex and Conservas La Costeña in Mexico. Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong delivered solid sales gains.”
“We are disappointed that certain parts of our portfolio did not perform well in the quarter. U.S. Beverages faced ongoing softness in the shelf-stable juice category and heightened competition. North America Foodservice continued to be challenged by the loss of a major restaurant customer and structural shifts in the food service sector. We are aggressively pursuing plans to improve the performance of these businesses,” said Morrison.
Morrison concluded, “Our strategic plan is intended to deliver sustainable, profitable net sales growth. We are still in the early stages of executing this plan, and we know that more work lies ahead. We believe our encouraging third-quarter results demonstrate the long-term promise of the plan. We are making good progress in changing Campbell’s growth trajectory.”