ConAgra Foods Inc. said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings grew almost 5 percent, helped by contributions from the commodity trading unit that the company just sold.

The Omaha-based maker of Healthy Choice, Hunts and other consumer brands earned $201 million, or 41 cents per share during the quarter that ended May 25. That figure includes 23 cents per share of net income from discontinued operations, including the commodity trading unit.

ConAgra's quarterly earnings are up from the $192 million, or 39 cents per share, it reported a year ago.

There are several unusual items in the quarter that affect comparability. This year's fourth-quarter earnings include a restructuring charge of $22 million, or 3 cents per share.

Last year's quarter included a charge of $18 million, or 2 cents per share, for ConAgra's Peter Pan peanut butter recall and a benefit of 1 cent per share for lower-than-expected taxes.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected quarterly earnings per share of 34 cents on average, but typically exclude one-time items.

ConAgra says its revenue jumped 15.2 percent to $3.08 billion in the fourth quarter from $2.67 billion a year ago. That's below the $3.4 billion revenue analysts expected.

ConAgra predicts that it will earn between $1.56 and $1.59 per share during fiscal 2009. And the company predicts it will make between 26 cents and 28 cents per share in the first quarter.

Both of the company's predictions are lower than what analysts had been predicting on average. Analysts forecast earnings per share of $1.60 for all of 2009 and 33 cents per share in the first quarter.

ConAgra shares fell $1.23, or 5.6 percent, to end Thursday at $20.92.

ConAgra CEO Gary Rodkin said he was pleased with what the company accomplished over the past year.

"Innovation is one of the reasons why we're excited," he said.

ConAgra increased prices by about 5 percent for nearly all of its products during the quarter, but the increases did not take effect until a month after the quarter started.

ConAgra executives said they expect to face 10-12 percent inflation in raw materials costs over the next year, so Rodkin said more price increases are likely.

Edward Jones analyst Matt Arnold said investors want to know whether ConAgra's consumer brands can consistently drive sales growth. In the latest quarter, Arnold said, ConAgra's consumer business delivered mixed results as sales volume slipped for some brands after the price increases.

"They're just now starting to raise prices," Arnold said. "Other food companies have been raising prices for many quarters now."

Rodkin said a few of ConAgra's brands, such as Reddi-wip and Pam cooking spray, are losing sales to generic brands as cost-conscious consumers try to save money. He said the company would monitor that trend carefully.

But Rodkin also predicted that ConAgra could benefit from the nation's economic woes if more people limit their restaurant spending and eat at home more often.

Citigroup analyst David Driscoll said in a research note that he thinks ConAgra appears to be on the right track even if the latest results didn't show as much progress as he expected.

"Overall ConAgra is a company on the rise," Driscoll said

Most of ConAgra's profit from discontinued operations came from its trading and merchandising group that buys and sells agricultural commodities, fertilizer and energy.

ConAgra on Monday said it completed the sale of the group to Osprie Special Opportunities fund for $2.2 billion in cash and $550 million in debt securities that are payable over the next four years.

ConAgra's trading and merchandising group has boosted the company's profits in several recent quarters and helped make up for disappointing sales of consumer products, which include Banquet, Orville Redenbacher and Egg Beaters.

The company's discontinued operations also included a $55 million pretax gain on the sale of the Knotts Berry Farm brand.

For the full fiscal year, ConAgra reported earning $931 million, or $1.90 per share, on $11.6 billion revenue. That's 22 percent higher than the $765 million, or $1.51 per share, on $10.5 billion revenue.