Dean Foods Slides on Weaker Forecast
ThinkstockDean Foods Inc. (NYSE: DF) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results before markets opened this morning. For the quarter, the food and beverage company posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40 on revenues of $3.04 billion. In the…
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Dean Foods Inc. (NYSE: DF) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results before markets opened this morning.
For the quarter, the food and beverage company posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40 on revenues of $3.04 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.28 on revenues of $2.93 billion. Fourth-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.30 and $3.37 billion in revenues.
On a GAAP basis, Dean Foods posted EPS of $0.20 for the quarter. Adjustments take into account the spin-off of The WhiteWave Foods Co. (NYSE: WWAV) and the sale of the Dean Foods’ Morningstar dairy business.
For the full year, adjusted EPS totaled $1.39 on revenues of $12.9 billion. The consensus estimate called for EPS of $1.29 on revenues of $12.77 billion. On a GAAP basis, EPS totaled $0.90 for the full year.
The company forecast EPS of $0.45 to $0.55 for the current year and current quarter EPS of $0.10 to $0.15, excluding results from WhiteWave. Including Whitewave’s results, Dean Foods forecasts EPS of $0.22 to $0.27 for the first quarter and $1.00 to $1.10 for the full year. The consensus estimate calls for EPS of $0.30 in the current quarter and $1.28 for the full year.
Dean Foods also affirmed its intention to conduct a tax-free spinoff of more of its WhiteWave shares in the second quarter. The company will retain a stake of about 19.9% in WhiteWave, well below its current stake of around 87%.
The company’s shares are down about 5.7% in premarket trading this morning, at $17.33 in a 52-week range of $10.70 to $19.17. The consensus target price for the shares was around $20.60 before today’s report.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.