Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) has started its 2023 financial year on the front foot, delivering 15% growth in first-quarter net sales to $2.58 billion and lifting adjusted earnings by the same margin to $449 million.
The Camden, New Jersey-based company, which has been making the iconic condensed soup for more than 150 years, said its strong results reflect its continued success in driving the relevance of its brands and improving our execution across our supply chain.
Its portfolio of brands also includes Cape Cod, Goldfish, Pacific Foods and V8, among others.
"Through a combination of inflation-driven pricing actions and productivity improvements, we have substantially mitigated significant inflationary pressure in the quarter while continuing to provide quality and value to consumers,” CEO Mark Clouse said in a statement.
“We are investing in the equity of our brands through effective marketing, delivering robust innovation and deploying efficient capital spending to ensure we continue to fuel improving in-market shares and growth,” he added.
“With the momentum of our strong first-quarter performance and confidence in our strengthened supply chain, we are raising our full-year fiscal 2023 guidance while taking into account the volatile economic environment,” Clouse concluded.
On track to deliver $1 billion in savings
Gross profit for the three months ended October 30 rose 16% to $834 million as its gross profit margin edged higher to 32.4%, while adjusted diluted earnings per share increased by 15% to $1.02.
The company said it achieved $10 million of total savings under its multi-year cost savings program, inclusive of Snyder’s-Lance integration synergies, bringing total program-to-date cost savings to $860 million.
It said remains on track to deliver savings of $1 billion by the end of fiscal 2025.
Based on the strong first quarter results which reflect continued demand for its products and improved supply chain execution, Campbell said it is raising its full-year fiscal 2023 net sales, adjusted underlying earnings (EBIT) and adjusted EPS guidance provided on September 1, 2022, while taking into account the volatile economic environment.
The company’s shares rose nearly 5% in early Wednesday trade.
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