The Campbell Soup Co. said Monday its profit climbed in the third quarter as it completed the sale of its Godiva Chocolatier brand. But its adjusted profit fell on higher ingredient costs if the impact of the Godiva sale were excluded.

Its shares fell more than 5 percent in morning trading.

The Camden-based food company earned $532 million, or $1.40 per share, in the three months ended April 27. That was up from $217 million, or 55 cents a share, a year ago.

But the latest results include the $850 million sale of Godiva to Yildiz Holding AS. After taxes, Campbell had a $467 million gain on the sale.

Excluding one-time items _ including receipts from the March 18 Godiva sale, which was partially offset by the cost of previously announced restructuring _ Campbell said its earnings were $165 million, or 43 cents per share, down 7.8 percent from an adjusted $179 million, or 45 cents per share, a year ago.

The latest results are one penny per share short of the 44 cents per share consensus expectation of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

The company reiterated its expectations of profit growth of 5 to 7 percent for the fiscal year.

Revenue rose to $1.88 billion from $1.75 billion a year ago.

Its shares fell $1.89, or 5.3 percent, to $34.06 in morning trading.

Like other food companies, Campbell’s said its profit margin is being pinched by higher costs of ingredients.

For instance, the company said sales were up by more than 10 percent in all three divisions of its Pepperidge Farm brand: cookies and crackers, bakery, and frozen. But earnings for Pepperidge Farm were flat. The company blamed commodity prices.

Soup sales were down 3 percent compared with an unusually strong third quarter in 2007. Condensed soup sales were flat, while ready-to-serve products slipped 9 percent.

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, Campbell’s brought earned $1.08 billion, or $2.79 per share, up from $793 million, or $1.99 per share. Revenue rose to $6.28 billion from, $5.87 billion a year ago.