Wimm-Bill-Dann 2Q profit up 9 percent

Russian dairy, food and juice company Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC said Thursday its second-quarter profit rose 9 percent as strong sales of baby food and milk offset rising costs.

The company earned $36.7 million on $760.1 million in sales, compared with year-ago profit of $33.7 million on sales of $605 million. Dairy sales climbed 24 percent to $550 million as higher prices offset declining volumes, while beverage sales rose 19 percent and baby food sales spiked 63 percent to $68 million.

"Despite the uncertain macroeconomic environment and the dramatic worldwide increase in food prices, our business remains very solid and our position continues to improve," Chief Executive Tony Maher said in a statement.

Profit for the first half of the year rose 19 percent to $78.6 million, or $1.79 per share, from profit of $65.8 million, or $1.50 per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 30 percent to $1.49 billion from $1.15 billion.

Citi Investment Research analyst Marat Ibragimov said Wednesday he expected the food producer would show a 31 percent jump in revenue in the first half of the year, largely driven by selling price increases. He also expected dairy volumes to slide, largely at the expense of high-marging products.

Investors were displeased, sending shares down $3.52, or 4.7 percent, to $72.21 in morning trading.