Campbell Soup drops in pre-market trade as Q4 disappoints

Campbell Soup shares slid ahead of the open after the producer of canned soup’s fourth-quarter results disappointed.

For the fourth quarter, the company reported a loss of $37m, or $0.26 per share, down from $43m or $0.05 a share in the same period the year before.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.46, missing analysts’ expectations of $0.50, while net sales slipped 0.4% to $1.69bn.

Chief executive Denise Morrison said: “We finished the year in line with our guidance, including strong profit performance. However, I am not pleased with the results of our fourth quarter. The performance of our Campbell Fresh business, driven predominantly by execution issues, is disappointing.

“We have taken and are taking steps designed to ensure the business performs to its potential. We remain confident in our Campbell Fresh strategy and its ability to deliver long-term growth consistent with its portfolio role, as the business remains well-positioned to capitalize on the health and well-being consumer trend.”

In its fiscal 2017 guidance, Campbell said it expects sales to rise by 0 to 1%, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes to increase by 1% to 4% and adjusted EPS to jump by 2% to 5%, or $3.00 to $3.09 per share.

Campbell Soup shares were down 3.5% to $60.72 in pre-market trade.