US dairy company Dean Foods has reported that its net earnings for the first quarter of 2013 increased to $492.6m, compared with $37.8m for the same period in 2012.
The net earnings for the quarter were driven by the company's sale of its Morningstar business, the gain of which is the primary driver of the diluted earnings of $2.63 per share and is reflected in discontinued operations, as well as the company's majority ownership interest in its subsidiary the WhiteWave Foods.
Excluding the company's ownership interest in WhiteWave, the ongoing Dean Foods segment, which includes the former FDD segment and corporate costs, reported adjusted diluted earnings of $0.16 per share.
For the quarter ended 31 March 2013, Net sales were $2.9bn, while net sales for the ongoing Dean Foods segment totaled $2.3bn, compared with $2.4bn in the same period a year ago.
Dean Foods chief executive officer Gregg Tanner said that the company's continued focus on the fundamentals of cost, volume and price delivered a solid start to the year in the first quarter.
"The narrowed focus on the key drivers of the business, coupled with our Company-wide 'say what you'll do and do what you say' attitude, have helped deliver nine consecutive quarters of results at or above our guidance," Tanner added.
On 1 May, the company announced that its board of directors have approved the distribution to Dean Foods stockholders of a portion of its remaining stake in the WhiteWave Foods and had determined the approximate distribution ratios, record date and distribution date for the spin-off.
