Dean Foods' Stock Surges After Profit, Sales And Outlook Top Expectations

Shares of Dean Foods Co. surged 6.7% in premarket trade Monday, after the food and beverage company beat first-quarter profit and sales expectations, and provided an upbeat second-quarter outlook. For the latest quarter, the company reported a net loss that widended to $73.7 million, or 70 cents a share, from $9 million, or 9 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, including asset impairment charges related to the launch of DairyPure, adjusted earnings per share came in at 24 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 17 cents. Sales slipped to $2.05 billion from $2.34 billion, but beat the FactSet consensus of $2.1 billion. For the second quarter, Dean Foods expects adjusted EPS of 20 cents to 30 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 19 cents. "Dean Foods' first quarter results reflect solid execution within an easing commodity environment," said Chief Financial Officer Chris Bellairs. "With volume performance coming in-line with our expectations, significant price realization was the primary driver of sequentially improving results." The stock has slumped 16% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.8%.