Campbell Soup Company has recorded a 2% decline in full-year net sales and said it expects a “very challenging environment” in fiscal 2022.
Revenue for the year stood at $8.48 billion and Campbell says that three quarters of its brand portfolio grew or held share, “demonstrating strong underlying brand health and momentum”.
The company’s meals & beverages unit witnessed net sales fall by 2%, mainly due to declines in foodservice, partially offset by growth in V8 beverages.
Organic net sales for Campbell’s snacks division were flat, as gains in the company’s salty snacks portfolio and in Goldfish crackers were offset by declines in Lance sandwich crackers and in partner brands within the Snyder’s-Lance portfolio.
The company forecasts net sales in a range of flat to a decline of 2% for fiscal 2022, expecting results to be impacted by accelerating inflationary pressures, a constrained labour market and the continued cycling of elevated demand. The net sales guidance is below analysts’ estimates of a nearly 1% fall, according to Reuters.
Packaged food manufacturers have been grappling with higher costs of ingredients and companies such as Unilever have also warned of the impact of rising commodity costs in the coming year.
In the fourth quarter, the company’s net sales decreased 11% to $1.87 billion – as Campbell lapped elevated demand for foods for at-home consumption in the year-ago period.
Organic net sales – which exclude the impact of an extra week in fiscal 2020 and the sale of the Plum baby food and snacks business – decreased 4%.
“The fourth quarter was a positive finish to a solid year during which we successfully navigated a difficult environment, made significant progress advancing our strategic plan and addressed the executional pressures we experienced in the third quarter,” said Mark Clouse, Campbell Soup Company president and CEO.
“Our growth in adjusted EPS during fiscal 2021 on comparable organic sales, coupled with our expanded share growth across the majority of our core categories, demonstrated strong performance especially when compared to the significant growth in the prior year.
“As we head into fiscal 2022, we have robust in-market momentum on our brands, strong plans to manage inflation, and a talented and committed team to lead through what we expect to be a very challenging environment.”
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