Dean Foods swings to profit in Q4 2012

US dairy company Dean Foods has swung to a profit of $37m in the fourth quarter of 2012 driven by higher revenues, compared to a loss of $10m in the same period a year ago, when the company incurred a goodwill impairment charge of $149.8m.

Dean Foods’ Fresh Dairy Direct segment posted operating income of $106m for the fourth quarter, compared with $107m the previous year.

Dean Foods CEO Gregg Tanner said that the fourth quarter marked the successful conclusion of a very strong year.

"At Fresh Dairy Direct, our employees are to be commended for the results they delivered through continued focus on the fundamentals of the business, including volume performance, cost control and effective pricing," Tanner said.

"Despite the challenging rise in costs in the back half of the year and fourth quarter in particular, fourth quarter gross profit per gallon was above third quarter and year ago levels," he added.

For the full year 2012, net earnings increased to $167.5m, compared to a loss of $1.58bn in 2011, while net sales declined 2% to $11.46bn, compared to $11.64bn a year earlier.

For fiscal 2013, the company expects to record adjusted diluted earnings per share of between $0.45 and $0.55, excluding WhiteWave’s operating results.

In January 2013, Dean Foods completed the sale of its Morningstar Foods division to Canadian dairy company Saputo for $1.45bn.