Nordstrom Inc. Carrying less inventory helped the upscale retailer more than double its second-quarter profit compared with a year earlier, though it tempered its sales outlook for 2010 and its profit results fell slightly short of forecasts. Nordstrom also said Monday that it expects to pick up market share. The department store chain, based in Seattle, said it earned $172 million, or 77 cents per share, for the period that ended Jan. 30. A year earlier, Nordstrom earned $68 million, or 31 cents per share. That was just short of the 79 cents a share that analysts expected. Nordstrom's total fourth-quarter revenues rose to $2.64 billion from $2.39 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected revenue of $2.53 billion.
Campbell Soup Co. The world's largest soupmaker said Monday that it fumbled its relaunch last fall of Chunky ready-made soups, but Campbell said its second-quarter profit still rose 11 percent from a year earlier. The company, whose products also include V8 juices and Prego sauces, said it should have promoted the new Chunky soups sooner and more heavily, offering more coupons and sales to go along with its ad campaign. Nonetheless, profit rose to $259 million, or 74 cents per share, as its revenue rose 1 percent to $2.15 billion. Condensed soup sales were flat. The profit figure met Wall Street expectations, but the revenue fell short of the $2.23 billion forecast on average by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
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