Dean Foods, the largest dairy processor in the US, today (3 August) booked falling quarterly higher profits amid continuing pressure on its liquid milk business from private label.

The company posted net income of US$44.8m for the three months to the end of June, compared to $64.1m a year earlier.

The result equated to earnings per share of $0.25, in line with analyst consensus. On an adjusted basis, which excludes, among other things, acquisition costs and charges linked to recent reorganisation at the business, earnings per share stood at $0.29.

Dean Foods’ sales were up 11% at $2.7bn due to the company passing through higher commodity costs from its Fresh Dairy Direct-Morningstar division and “strong” sales growth from its WhiteWave-Alpro unit.

Chairman and CEO Gregg Engles said the company was making progress.

“Our results in the quarter remain well below year ago levels, but represent a step forward from the difficult start to 2010,” Engles said. “While the challenges in the fluid milk category continue to negatively impact results, we remain focused on significantly lowering our cost structure to position us to win over the longer term.”

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Click here for the complete earnings statement from Dean Foods.

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