UPDATE: WhiteWave Foods Posts Higher Q3 Profit

The WhiteWave Foods Company

reported a rise in its earnings for the third quarter. The Denver, Colorado-based company posted a quarterly profit of $41 million, or $0.23 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $24 million, or $0.14 per share. Its adjusted diluted earnings per share gained 35% to $0.26, while adjusted diluted earnings per share, excluding China joint venture, surged 42% to $0.27. Its net sales gained 34% to $857 million in the quarter, while organic sales climbed 12%. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.26 per share on revenue of 843.02 million. Net sales for the North America segment gained 36% to $728 million, while net sales for the Europe segment climbed 24% on a reported basis to $129 million. Adjusted operating income jumped 50% to $82 million from $54 million. "We reported another quarter of strong financial results, with record net sales and strong operating performance leading to further earnings growth. Our organic net sales growth of 12 percent in the third quarter is the highest rate we achieved this year. Impressive results by our market-leading brands in North America and Europe powered another strong quarter as consumers across continents are increasingly looking for great-tasting, healthy and responsibly produced foods and beverages," said Gregg Engles, chairman and chief executive officer. Whitewave now expects full year 2014 adjusted earnings of $0.99 to $1.00 per share, versus its earlier forecast of $0.98 to $1.00 per share. For the fourth quarter, the company projects adjusted earnings of $0.26 to $0.27 per share. Whitewave shares fell 1.41% to close at $36.93 on Friday.