White Wave Foods Q1 Profit Rises, Beats View; Raises FY14 Earnings View

(RTTNews) - The White Wave Foods Company (WWAV) Thursday posted higher earnings for the first quarter driven by continued growth across all of the company's platforms. In addition, the firm raised its full-year earnings guidance. The company's net earnings rose to $32.3 million or $0.18 per share from $23.9 million or $0.14 per share in the prior-year quarter. On an adjusted basis, earnings were $39 million or $0.22 per share. On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.20 for the quarter . Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items. Net sales for the quarter advanced to $830 million from $608 million in the same period last year. Analysts estimated revenues of $789.30 million for the quarter. Looking ahead, for the second quarter the company expects adjusted earnings per share to range between $0.21 and $0.22, excluding a reduction of about $0.01 per share from estimated China joint venture investments. Analyst expect earnings to be $0.21 per share. Due to its strong first quarter 2014 performance and the expectation of continued growth, the firm raised its earnings per share forecast to $0.95- $0.98 versus the previous range of $0.90 and $0.94.Analyst estimates full-year earnings of $0.93 per share. Currently the company anticipates reported net sales growth in the low thirties percent range for both the full year and the second quarter of 2014.