Dean Foods Q1 Earnings Top Views, Shares Surge

Shares of

jumped over 6 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, and issued a strong forecast for the second quarter. The Dallas, Texas-based company reported a quarterly net loss of $73.7 million, or $0.70 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $9 million, or $0.09 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, the company's adjusted earnings came in at $0.24 per share. Its sales declined to $2.05 billion from $2.34 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.17 per share on revenue of $2.11 billion. The average estimate among 9 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.16 per share and revenue of $2.14 billion. Consolidated net cash provided by continuing operations came in at $158 million for the quarter. Total volume across all products slipped 3 percent year-over-year to 662 million gallons for the first quarter, from 685 million gallons in the year-ago quarter. Chief Financial Officer Chris Bellairs said, "Dean Foods' first quarter results reflect solid execution within an easing commodity environment. In the first quarter, we witnessed retailers lean first and foremost into pricing architectures to restore profitability to dairy products and the dairy case. With volume performance coming in-line with our expectations, significant price realization was the primary driver of sequentially improving results. We believe that we can drive shareholder value as we leverage our improving operating results and free cash flow performance, our enhanced capital structure and the incremental opportunities associated with our new national brand, DairyPure." For the second quarter, the company projects adjusted earnings of $0.20 to $0.30 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.19 per share. Dean Foods shares climbed 6.88 percent to $17.40 in pre-market trading.