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June 24, 2008 9:10 a.m. EDT

DOW JONES REPRINTS This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit: www.djreprints.com. • See a sample reprint in PDF format. • Order a reprint of this article now. ConAgra Sees Strong Quarter By &Nbsp;KEVIN KINGSBURY June 24, 2008 9:10 a.m. ConAgra Foods Inc. boosted its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings outlook, citing "very strong" profits at its just-sold trading operations. The packaged-foods company said Tuesday it sees earnings for the quarter ended May 25 above the firm's March estimate of 30 cents to 35 cents a share, excluding items. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters most recently expected a 36-cent profit. Beyond the trading business, which will be classified as discontinued operations, ConAgra said it was "pleased" with the performance of its food and ingredients segment and "improved execution" on consumer-foods pricing. ConAgra, Omaha, Neb., on Monday said it completed the sale of its commodity trading and merchandising operations to an investor group led by Ospraie Management for $2.8 billion, a third higher than the price originally agreed to, because of increases in book value tied to gains and additional working capital. ConAgra said it now expects pretax proceeds of about $2.2 billion in cash and $550 million of payment-in-kind debt securities. The trading group, whose duties include placing hedges against the swing in the cost of food and energy, saw its fiscal third-quarter earnings more than triple in March on a 92% increases in revenue. Hedging has become popular with consumer-product companies -- in particular ConAgra -- looking to manage soaring food and fuel costs. ConAgra is due to release its fiscal fourth-quarter results Thursday.