Diamond Foods, the California-based snack nuts group, has posted a 10.4% rise in net sales to US$124.2m for the second quarter to the end of January 2006.
The company, which markets the Diamond of California and Emerald brands, reported that North American retail sales rose by 23.2% to $78.8m. GAAP fully-diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter reached $0.20.
“We are pleased with our second fiscal quarter as a public company,” Diamond Foods president and CEO Michael Mendes said. “Revenue from our North American retail channel grew 23%, and our Emerald product line achieved an increase in revenue of approximately 60% from last year’s second quarter to nearly $9m.
“We have also begun to introduce our new, premium blend Emerald-branded trail mix to the trade and have received some very positive feedback. We believe this new product introduction will further strengthen our growth opportunities for the Emerald brand.”
For the half-year, net sales were up by 6.0% at $302.2m, while GAAP fully-diluted earnings per share were $0.46.
