Russian dairy, beverages and baby foods producer Wimm-Bill-Dann has posted a third quarter 2010 net income of $21 million under US GAAP, down 52.7% year-on-year.
Third quarter EBITDA fell 9.4% year on year to $80 million, despite sales rising 22.3% year-on-year to $640.9 million.
The third quarter figures made for a nine-month 2010 net income of $92.7 million, down 15.2% year on year, with nine-month EBITDA falling 2.8% year-on-year to $239.6 million. Sales in the nine months rose 18.8% to $1.895 billion.
The company noted increased third quarter financial expenses, which climbed to $16.9 million, compared to $5.9 million in third quarter 2009. CEO Tony Maher focused on strong revenue growth with the impact of the summer drought hitting milk prices.
"We saw a robust 15% jump in group volumes in the third quarter and 10% increase for the first nine months of the year. The unusually hot summer led to an unprecedented spike in raw milk prices which has affected all players. Our long-term supplier relationships allowed us to manage this challenge better than others and our unrelenting focus on cost and supply chain management helped us reduce the impact on our margins. In particular, we were pleased by our ability to deliver sequential improvement in our dairy gross margins of 60 basis points during the third quarter."
Maher said the recent purchase of Wimm-Bill-Dann by Pepsico was an expression of confidence in the Russian market and would bring tremendous opportunities.
"This transaction is a great vote of confidence in the Russian market and recognizes the value of Wimm-Bill-Dann's strong, high-growth platform and product portfolio, while bringing tremendous value to our shareholders. PepsiCo is a global leader in the food and beverage industry and we are excited about the opportunities that this deal brings. Together we will be the largest FMCG company in Russia with a comprehensive portfolio of products and an unmatched distribution network that will deliver benefits to our shareholders, customers, suppliers and employees."
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti)
