Campbell Tries To Reassure Investors

GEOFF MULVIHILL

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) — Campbell Soup Co. has been trying to assure investors that the company is having a strong year even though soup sales were down for the third quarter.

The company released its quarterly results Thursday afternoon — a day before they were planned.

The unusual move came as analysts were speculating that the report would be particularly rough.

Campbell President and CEO Douglas Conant said in an interview Friday that he feared analysts were focusing too much on the quarterly performance.

"In a seasonal business like soup, you have to view soup over the season," he said.

And while soup sales were down for the quarter, the company's numbers showed a solid soup season.

The quarterly report gave a good news-bad news picture. Profits were down, but adjusted profits were up — and above the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. While soup sales were down, the company said it expected profits for the fiscal year, which runs through July, to exceed its long-range target of growing by 5 to 7 percent.