Campbell Soup Co. sales rose 6% to $7.1 billion for fiscal 2004, mostly on the strength of ready-to-eat soups, biscuits and candy.
Soup sales for North America and Away From Home rose 4% to $2.7 billion for the year ended Aug. 1; ready-to-serve sales rose 8%, while condensed-soup sales fell 2%.
Biscuit and confection sales (including Goldfish and Godiva brands) rose 12% to nearly $2 billion; sauces and beverage sales were flat at $1.2 billion for the year.
“We have demonstrated that we can grow the top line across our key segments, including soup, beverages, biscuits and confectionery,” said President-CEO Douglas Conant in a statement. “Our investment this year in quality, convenience packaging, and more focused marketing helped us to maintain substantial growth in our ready-to-serve soup business and to moderate the decline in condensed soup sales.”
Overall sales fell 2% to $1.43 billion for the fourth quarter ended Aug. 1. Campbell cites the short seven-week quarter and increased promotional spending for the quarterly decline.
Network
