Dean Foods (DF) reported relatively strong third-quarter results with earnings of 34 cents per share. Quarterly earnings were up 21% year-over-year. Quarterly net sales declined 13.2% year over year to $2.7 billion due to the pass-through of lower overall dairy commodity costs, despite positive contributions from acquisitions and lower net sales volumes in the WhiteWave-Morningstar operations, which were partially offset by acquisition-related volume growth in Fresh Dairy Direct and WhiteWave-Morningstar. Net sales in the Fresh Dairy Direct segment declined 18.3% as the company passed some of the lower dairy costs to customers but were partially offset by continued volume growth. Raw milk prices were 45% lower compared to the prior-year. Net sales at WhiteWave-Morningstar increased 5.7% to $709 million, driven the Alpro acquisition, partially offset by the exit of a foodservice relationship in the Silk® brand and the exit of some private label organic milk ...

Dean Foods (DF) announced today the agreement to acquire Alpro, a division of the Vandemoortele Group. Alpro is the European market leader in branded soy food products, with the brands Alpro (which targets the retail and out-of-home channels) and Provamel (which is distributed in the specialized organic health store channel). With five manufacturing sites in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, Alpro generates annual revenues of e260 million ($360 million).Dean Foods expects the e325 million ($450 million) transaction price to be modestly accretive to 2009 earnings. The transaction is being financed under the company's existing revolving credit facility, and management does not expect the need to raise additional equity as a result of the acquisition.Demand for soy and organic foods have increased rapidly due to growing awareness among consumers regarding the health benefits of soy and organic foods. The Dean Foods brand ...