US soup maker Campbell Soup has reported a rise in quarterly earnings, helped by higher sales of convenience products.

The company reported earnings in the fiscal second quarter to 26 January of US$231m, or 56 cents a share, from $203m, or 49 cents a share, in the year-ago period, narrowly beating analysts’ average estimate of 55 cents a share.

Campbell reported net sales of $1.91bn, compared to $1.81bn in the year-ago period.