UPDATE: Dean Foods Posts Narrower-Than-Expected Q3 Loss, Issues Strong Outlook

Shares of Dean Foods

jumped more than 8% in pre-market trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for the third quarter and issued a strong forecast. The Dallas, Texas-based company posted a quarterly net loss of $16 million, or $0.17 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $415 million, or $0.11 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, Dean Foods posted an adjusted loss of $0.03 per share. Its sales climbed to $2.37 billion from $2.2 billion. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.13 per share on revenue of $2.35 billion. Its unadjusted fluid milk volumes shrank 1% y/y. The company posted an operating loss of $1 million, versus an operating income of $23 million. "Given the continued challenges facing the dairy industry due to the dairy commodity environment, we are encouraged by the sequential improvement of our operating results which we believe reflects the success of our current business efforts," said Gregg Tanner, Chief Executive Officer of Dean Foods. For the fourth quarter, Dean Foods now projects earnings of $0.05 to $0.15 per share, versus analysts' expectations for a loss of $0.02 per share. The company now expects a FY14 loss of $0.06 to $0.16 per share, versus analysts' estimates for a loss of $0.34 per share. Dean Foods shares jumped 8.32% to $15.62 in pre-market trading.