Topic: Blue Chip Stocks

Large cap stocks: Campbell Soup earnings rise in the latest quarter

Campbell Soup Co., symbol CPB on New York, is the world’s largest maker of canned soups. It also makes Prego canned pasta and sauces, Pepperidge Farm cookies and V8 vegetable juices.

In the three months ended May 1, 2011, the large cap stock’s earnings rose 11.3%, to $187 million from $168 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 16.3%, to $0.57 from $0.49, on fewer shares outstanding. That beat the consensus earnings estimate of $0.52 a share. If you exclude one-time charges in the year-earlier period related to a restructuring and changes in the new U.S. health-care law, earnings per share would have risen 5.6%.

Revenue rose just 0.6%, to $1.81 billion from $1.80 billion. Sales at the large cap stock’s U.S. Soups, Sauces and Beverages division (43% of total revenue) fell 8%. That’s mainly because the company raised its prices to offset higher ingredient costs. This business is also facing stronger competition from other ready-to-eat foods, such as frozen pizza.

Revenue at the Baking and Snacking division (29% of total revenue) rose 10%, largely because the weaker U.S. dollar enhanced the contribution of overseas sales. Revenue from the International Soup division (20% of total revenue) rose 7%, while revenue from the North American Foodservice division (8% of total revenue), which sells food to restaurants, rose 5%.

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