Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Mark Clouse: Yes, I do think there’ll be some delta there. But as it relates to retail in particular, I think those two things will be close. I do think your overall net sales will get a little bit of bump as foodservice and some of the other unmeasured channels recover. However, I don’t think you’ll see this kind of difference because we — as we did start to stabilize supply you see kind of a steady recovery. So although I agree with you, some delta, not as significant as this quarter.

Jason English: Got it. Make sense. And one more, if I can, on inflation. Most companies are seeing the level of year-on-year inflation. If not stabilized, generally begin to moderate, you’re going the other way with the acceleration here quarter-on-quarter. What is driving that?

Mark Clouse: Yes. Mick, why don’t you cover that? Yes, three areas really.

Mick Beekhuizen: So Jason, when you think about our overall inflation for the year, we’re seeing a very similar dynamic what you’re describing, right? Just it is low teens inflation year-over-year for the full year. However, I mean, basically, that Q1 number was as expected, the 18%. Because as you might recall, when we spoke about kind of our outlook for the full year, we’re expecting double-digit inflation in the first half, but then we cut over into the new calendar year and certain contracts reset. And of course, then you start to comp also higher inflation levels from this past year. And then in the second half of the year as a result we expect more in the, call it, high single-digit type of inflation. So it’s really, call it, a little bit of first half versus second half story. First half still continued double-digit inflation you saw in Q1. However, then in the second half, you start to see that installation is starting to moderate; however, still inflationary.

Mark Clouse: Yes. And I think the places where we saw deltas are really in the protein, resin areas and a little bit of this at times like, for example, in steel, we might have expected a little bit faster walked out in prices that may not have materialized at the same level. And so part of what we’re reacting to is a little bit of the change in outlook for the cost relative to what we talked about for Wave 4 pricing. And again, it’s a very targeted pricing action in particular to certain areas where you may have experienced some of that pressure.

Mick Beekhuizen: Yes. And the dynamic that Mark is describing between on the one enterprising, but also a little bit additional pressure on that inflation around whether it’s steel and protein that’s really a second half dynamic.

Jason English: All really helpful. Congrats on the good start to the year. I’ll pass it on.

Mark Clouse: Thanks.

Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Chris Growe from Stifel. Your line is open.

Chris Growe: My first question was just in relation to the wave of pricing you’ve taken. Have you said how much that is? And I thought it I’d be just good to hear how those conversations are going with retailers? As we near the end of this incremental inflation, is there any change in the tenor, if you will, in those discussions with retailers?

Mark Clouse: Yes. So it is a much more targeted action probably low single digits overall. I would say that as we’ve navigated through this last couple of years of elevated inflation, the level of transparency and almost the mechanical nature of understanding the validity of pricing actions has become a muscle that has really been built well, I think, on both sides of the table. So, it’s really much more about the dialogue of where our costs, what — how do those reflect what we’re suggesting on price. So, I do think we are in a moment now where this is more the tail end and thus then ensuring that everything that we’re doing is really clear and transparent, rationalized by the costs that we’re dealing with. But I think when that happens, it’s relatively constructive and the conversations kind of move forward, I would say, in a very almost mechanical way.

I do think that the sensitivity around ensuring that we’re doing everything possible to support the brands and the categories we’re in, maintaining affordability for consumers in this tough environment. It’s certainly top of mind for both us and the retailer as we work together. And so, we’re quite conscious of those dynamics and ensuring that we’re making the right strategic choices for the business for the long term.

Chris Growe: That’s great. I’m sure the increase in marketing helps a lot in communicating that to the retailer. So that’s great. Just one follow-up with — one follow-up, which is in — you’re starting to lap some pricing from the prior year. So you have a little bit more pricing coming through sequentially as well. So I just want to get a sense from like the pricing contribution in that pricing versus cost inflation. Is that a similar dynamic in 2Q as it was in 1Q in rough terms?