Earthbound Farm Boosts WhiteWave Foods in Q3 2014
DENVER, CO – Earthbound Farm has continued to see growth after it was acquired by WhiteWave Foods Company earlier this year. For this quarter, Earthbound’s net sales totaled $141 million, a 7% increase over the previous year.
According to the company, those sales were driven by growth in organic packaged salads, which comprise the majority of Earthbound’s business. The organic packaged salads category also continued to grow. It increased 14%, which brings organic packaged salads’ share of the total category to 25% this quarter.
As we previously reported, WhiteWave Foods Company completed its acquisition of Earthbound Farm for $600 million in the beginning of this year, and it is proving profitable. For this quarter, Earthbound Farm helped bring WhiteWave’s total net sales to $857 million, a 34% increase over last year’s Q3 total of $639 million.
Also for this quarter, the addition of Earthbound Farm helped drive WhiteWave’s adjusted operating income for the North America segment to increase 43% to $84 million compared to the same period in 2013.
In the financial report, Gregg Engles, Chairman and CEO of WhiteWave Foods Company said, "We reported another quarter of strong financial results, with record net sales and strong operating performance leading to further earnings growth. Our organic net sales growth of 12 percent in the third quarter is the highest rate we achieved this year. Impressive results by our market-leading brands in North America and Europe powered another strong quarter as consumers across continents are increasingly looking for great-tasting, healthy and responsibly produced foods and beverages.”
At the close of the market yesterday, WhiteWave stock was up $0.49 to $36.49 for a 1.36% increase.
Congratulations on the excellent quarter, Earthbound and WhiteWave!
