Egg producer Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (CALM) reported a second-quarter profit Monday that fell from last year, hurt by a decrease in the average selling price of eggs. However, earnings per share still beat the amount predicted by market analysts.
For the second quarter, net income dropped to $16.09 million or $0.67 per share from $27.24 million or $1.14 per share in the previous year. On average, five analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.66 per share for the second quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Jackson, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine's net sales came down to $229.23 million from $238.31 million in the second quarter of the prior fiscal year. Three analysts were expecting revenues of $233.65 million for the second quarter.
The company revealed that Dozen Eggs Sold for the 13-week period increased to 206.25 million from 185.19 million in the past year. Net Average Selling Price per dozen,however, declined to $1.057 from $1.209 a year ago.
Operating income declined sharply year-over-year to $25.44 million from $43.12 million.
Commenting on the results, Fred Adams, Jr., chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, said, "The supply and demand for eggs were well balanced and sales at the retail level were very good. However, food service and restaurant sales continued to be slow, reflecting economic trends, and egg product sales were down about two percent. Our feed costs were down for the quarter, which improved our profitability."
For the the first half of the year, net income dropped to $12.26 million or $0.51 per share from $38.39 million or $1.61 per share in fiscal 2009. Sales declined to $416.90 million from $445.20 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
Looking ahead, the company sees a favorable balance between supply and demand for eggs, while expecting feed costs to continue to be volatile and relatively high.
Further, the company declared quarterly cash dividend of about $0.172 per share to holders of its common and Class A common stock, payable on February 11 to shareholders of record on January 27.
CALM closed Thursday's regular trading hours at $30.81 on the Nasdaq.
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