(Reuters) -Campbell Soup Co forecast annual sales above Wall Street expectations on Thursday, betting on benefits from several quarters worth of price hikes as well as steady demand for its soups and ready-to-eat meals.

Consumers grappling with inflation-strained household budgets have been dining out less and turning to more affordable at-home meal options, boosting demand for the company's products.

Its volumes rose 1% in the fourth quarter and improved sequentially.

Packaged food makers including Campbell, Conagra Brands and General Mills have also been hiking product prices for more than a year to offset steep input costs.

Campbell expects net sales to rise between 9% and 11% in fiscal 2025, while analysts on average were expecting a 8.92% jump to $10.52 billion, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)