Campbell Soup profits for the fourth quarter trailed analysts' estimates mostly because of a 15% jump in marketing and promotions costs to improve sales of Swanson broth, Prego pasta sauces and
Pepperidge Farms cookies. Rising expenses for grain, dairy and chocolate spurred the soupmaker to boost prices last year, and the company says that steeper commodity costs will bring about price
increases again this year.
Revenue rose 9.6% to $1.59 billion, the biggest jump in more than two-and-a-half years. Campbell was helped by an 8% increase in U.S. sales of broth and a 1% gain
in Chicken Noodle and other condensed soups. But demand for ready-to-serve varieties declined 4%, leaving total U.S. soup sales little changed.
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