Campbell Soup Beats On Q4; Plans $500M Strategic Share Repurchase

Campbell Soup Company CPB reported a fourth-quarter FY21 sales decline of 11.2% year-on-year, to $1.87 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $1.81 billion. Organic net sales decreased by 4%.
Meals and Beverages sales fell 16% Y/Y, and Snacks sales declined 6%.
The gross margin contracted 410 basis points Y/Y to 31.3%.
Total costs and expenses fell 24.7% Y/Y to $1.5 billion.
Campbell Soup held $69 million in cash and equivalents as of August 1, 2021, versus $859 million as of August 2, 2020.
Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $1.03 billion for the whole year.
Adjusted EPS of $0.55 beat the analyst consensus of $0.47.
Campbell's Board approved a $500 million strategic share repurchase program, replacing the suspended $1.5 billion program.
Outlook: Campbell Soup sees FY22 EPS of $2.75 - $2.85 versus the consensus of $2.87.
The company expects FY22 sales to decrease by 0-2%.
The company expects Q1 to be the most challenging versus elevated sales last year and first-half margins to continue to be impacted by transitional headwinds.
Price Action: CPB shares are trading higher by 1.70% at $42.44 in premarket on the last check Wednesday.