Campbell Soup profit falls 22 percent

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) -- The Campbell Soup Co. says its fourth-quarter profit declined 22 percent. But excluding one-time items, profit was up 11 percent.

The company says its profit was hurt by the exchange rate and helped by higher retail prices.

The company reported Friday that it earned $69 million, or 20 cents per share, for the three months ended Aug. 2. That's down from $89 million, or 24 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Excluding one-time items such as commodity hedging and a charge related to European trademarks, profit was $107 million, or 30 cents a share. Analysts expected 26 cents per share.

Sales for the quarter were $1.53 billion, down from $1.7 billion in the year-ago period.