Chunky Soups Sales Bulk Up Campbell’s Fourth Quarter

MOUNT LAUREL – The Campbell Soup Co. said Monday that its fourth- quarter profit climbed 63 percent, driven by lower marketing, higher selling prices and productivity improvements.

The Camden-based company said it expected profits to grow 5 percent to 6 percent in the next year.

The canned-food titan said it has stabilized the sales of its condensed soups but is trying to keep sales of its ready-to-serve line growing.

Earnings were $96 million, or 23 cents per share, for the three months ended July 31, up from $59 million, or 14 cents, a year earlier. The result was 2 cents per share higher than expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Sales grew 5 percent to $1.5 billion, from $1.43 billion last year.

Full-year earnings grew to $707 million, or $1.71 per share, from $647 million, or $1.57 per share. Sales rose to $7.55 billion from $7.11 billion a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, the company’s year-ago earnings were $1.58 a share. Analysts expected a profit of $1.69 a share on $7.57 billion in sales.

Sales of the company’s Godiva chocolate, Pepperidge Farm cookies and crackers, and condensed soups all rose for the quarter.