Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Campbell Soup Co., the world’s largest soupmaker, said second-quarter profit fell 15 percent as retailers cut back inventories.

Net income dropped to $233 million, or 64 cents a share, the Camden, New Jersey-based company said today in a statement. Sales fell as the dollar gained strength against other currencies. Excluding restructuring expenses, profit was 65 cents a share, a penny more than the average of 13 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Lower expenses for packaging and ingredients helped profit even as retailers reduced inventories, which hurt sales of condensed soup. Until last quarter, Campbell had been unable to take advantage of falling commodity prices because it locked in purchases of soybean oil, wheat, aluminum and natural gas last year when prices were higher.

“They were due a break,” Jack Russo, an analyst at Edward Jones Co. in St. Louis, said today in a telephone interview. “A lot of these companies have been penalized.”

Sales declined 4.3 percent to $2.12 billion in the three months ended Feb. 1 as a stronger dollar trimmed revenue outside the U.S. International soup, sauce and drink sales dropped 15 percent to $391 million. Analysts had projected revenue of $2.22 billion, on average.

Condensed soup sales grew 1 percent in the second quarter after a 14 percent jump in the first.

Inventory Cutbacks

Retailers made corporate-level decisions to reduce inventories of many products at the end of last year, including condensed soups, Campbell Chief Executive Officer Doug Conant said today on a conference call. The inventory cuts surprised him given the demand for soup in a weak economy, he said.

“It was a frustrating experience,” Conant said.

The company boosted its forecast for the rest of fiscal 2009. Full-year earnings, excluding currency effects, may climb as much as 7 percent from the $2.09 it earned in 2008, due to higher prices and lower interest costs, Campbell said. That’s a bigger jump than the company forecast in November.

The prediction includes the rising cost of the tin plate used to make cans, executives said on the call.

Campbell fell 82 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $28.63 at 4:03 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have dropped 4.6 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Duane D. Stanford in Atlanta at dstanford2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 23, 2009 16:09 EST