Cal-Maine reports stronger profits
by December 30, 2013 6:21 pm 103 views
Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg distributor in the U.S. announced an 8% increase in net sales for its second quarter ended Nov. 30. Cal-Maine owns Benton County Egg company located outside of Siloam Springs and is a major supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 totaled $354.3 million, this compared to $328.9 million for the second quarter last year. The company reported net income of $26.1 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, versus $14.3 million or 60 cents a share in the year-ago period.
Through the first half of fiscal 2014, Cal-Maine had sales totaling $673.8 million compared with net sales of $601.8 million for the prior-year period. Net profits were $34.9 million, up from $23.7 million from the prior year.
“We are pleased with the continued growth in sales and improved operating performance for the second quarter of fiscal 2014. These results reflect the additional volumes related to the Maxim acquisition, completed in November 2012, which contributed to the 6.2% growth in dozens sold during the quarter. Average selling prices were up 1% compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2013,” said Dolph Baker, chairman and CEO.
Baker said specialty egg sales continue to trend higher, accounting for 16.4% of the dozens sold and 23.7% of the total shell egg revenue for the quarter.
Specialty eggs are an important area of focus for Cal-Maine Food’s growth strategy as they gain popularity and support higher margins with less cyclical tendencies found in typical shell eggs.
On Nov. 15, 2012, the company purchased the commercial egg assets of Maxim Production Co. Excluding the acquisition, net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 were $323.4 million, an increase of 1.6% compared with the prior-year period.
Dozens sold, excluding the acquisition, were 227 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, a decrease of 1.3% compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2013.
On a comparable basis, excluding the acquisition, net sales for the first half of fiscal 2014 were $615 million, an increase of 4% and dozens sold were 445.2 million, an increase of 1.2%, over the same period last year.