Campbell Profit Drops 22%, Still Beats Street

CAMDEN, N.J. (TheStreet) -- Soup and summer don't go well together. Considering this, the state of the economy and some one-time charges, Campbell Soups'(CPB Quote) fourth-quarter earnings were actually better-than-expected.

During the quarter, the company earned $69 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with $89 million, or 24 cents, in the year-ago period.

But excluding one-time items like commodity hedging and a charge related to European trademarks, the company actually earned $107 million, or 30 cents a share. This was better than the 26 cents analysts expected.

Sales dropped 10% to $1.53 billion from $1.7 billion. But sales of soups in the iconic red-and-white can rose 4%, while Prego pasta sauce jumped double-digits.

Campbell also forecast earnings that would beat Wall Street's forecast. The company expects earnings in the current year to grow between 5% and 7% from the $2.22 a share reported in fiscal 2009.

On Thursday, rival General Mills(GIS Quote) said it's on track to top expectations in its first quarter.

Kraft(KFT Quote) has also been in the news for its offer to purchase candy maker Cadbury(CBY Quote). But Cadbury rejected its $16.7 billion offer, saying it is too low.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York

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