Earnings Report: Del Monte Foods (NYSE:DLM) Sizzles on Topped Estimates, Strong Guidance

Shares of Del Monte Foods (NYSE:DLM) are trading 4.1% higher to $13.00 premarket Thursday after the company reported fiscal Q3 EPS of $0.34, ex-items, besting consensus estimates of $0.21.

Revenues for the quarter rose 7.5% higher year-over-year to $1.01 billion, topping consensus estimates of $982.3 million.

For fiscal 2010, the company expects EPS in the range of $1.07 to $1.11, versus consensus estimates of $1.06, and up from its previously estimated range of $0.93 to $0.97.

Richard G. Wolford, Chairman and CEO, commented, "Del Monte delivered a strong third quarter, with financial results ahead of our expectations. Our brands are performing well across the portfolio, driving volume gains and share improvements. We have nearly doubled our marketing investment this quarter versus the prior year to strengthen our key equities. Our investment in our brands, which is focused in the second half of fiscal 2010, will provide momentum as we enter fiscal 2011. Our productivity initiative is on target to produce $80 million in savings for the fiscal year as we generated ~$24 million in productivity savings in the third quarter. In sum, we successfully executed our Accelerated Growth Plan strategy, with the strategic initiatives tracking to, if not better than, plan."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Del
• Monte
• Foods
• (NYSE:DLM)
• earnings
• stock
• news