Campbell’s 4th-Quarter Profit Increases 63%

Campbell Soup Co., whose brands include Pepperidge Farm, V8, Godiva and its namesake soups, said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit climbed 63%, driven by lower marketing costs, higher selling prices and productivity improvements.

Earnings were $96 million, or 23 cents a share, for the three months ended July 31, up from $59 million, or 14 cents, a year earlier. Sales grew 5% to about $1.5 billion.

Full-year earnings grew to $707 million, or $1.71 a share, from $647 million, or $1.57. Sales rose to $7.55 billion from $7.11 billion a year earlier.

Shares of Camden, N.J.-based Campbell fell 10 cents to $30.99.