White Wave keeps riding organic trend

Big name CPG companies Procter & Gamble and Kraft struggled to show growth with their recent quarterly results, but that wasn’t the case at White Wave Foods.



White Wave, a supplier of brands such as Silk, Horizon Organic and Earthbound Farms, reported strong sales and profit growth in its second quarter, even if the result of the acquired Earthbound Farms business were excluded. Sales during the quarter ended June 30 increased 36% to $838 million and still grew at 11% if Earthbound Farms sales are excluded. Profits on an adjusted basis increased 42% to 23 cents a share, excluding investments associated with a Chinese joint venture.



“We continued to experience strong growth across our businesses in the second quarter, with several of our platforms reporting record revenue,” said Gregg Engles, White Wave’s chairman and CEO. “The increasing cost leverage as a result of our growth, along with the benefits we are starting to realize from the investments in our supply chain, led to strong operating margin expansion in the quarter. We are pleased with our performance and believe our innovative, on-trend and market leading brands will continue to fuel our growth, leading us to again increase our EPS guidance for the full year.”



The company said it expects sales to grow 30% in the third quarter, aided by the inclusion of the Earthbound Farms results. Without that benefit, sales are forecast to grow as much as 9%. The favorable demand outlook prompted the company to raise its full year profit forecast to a range of 98 cents to $1 from an earlier range of 95 cents to 98 cents.