ConAgra 3Q profit down, results beat view

OMAHA, Neb. - ConAgra Foods Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit fell 38 percent compared to year-ago results.

The owner of brands like Healthy Choice and Peter Pan reiterated its forecast that fiscal 2009 profit would be "slightly above $1.50."

ConAgra earned $193.2 million, or 43 cents a share, for the three months ended Feb. 22, down from $309.1 million, or 63 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, the company says it earned 40 cents per share.

That tops the 36 cents a share that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected. The estimates exclude one-time items. ConAgra has operations in Naperville and in St. Charles.