What happened
Shares of Cal-Maine Foods (CALM -1.89%) slumped on Monday after the egg producer reported disappointing fiscal second-quarter results. Both revenue and earnings sharply declined, missing analyst expectations by wide margins. The stock was down about 9.8% at 10:55 a.m. EST.
So what
Cal-Maine reported second-quarter revenue of $311.5 million, down 12.5% year over year and about $16.4 million below the average analyst estimate. Unfavorable supply and demand knocked down the average sales price by 11.5%, while sales volumes were roughly flat compared to the prior-year period.
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Specialty eggs didn't perform much better than conventional eggs for Cal-Maine. Average prices were down 4.1%, and sales volumes slumped 5.7%. Lower prices for conventional eggs hurt demand for costlier options.
Cal-Maine reported a net loss of $0.21 per share, down from a profit of $0.45 per share in the prior-year period and $0.30 below analyst expectations. Farm production costs per dozen eggs rose 2.3% year over year, compounding with lower selling prices to drive the bottom line into the red.
Now what
Cal-Maine will not pay a dividend for the second fiscal quarter, as per its dividend policy requiring cumulative profitability since the previous dividend was paid.
"In spite of challenging conditions, we will continue to manage our business for the long term, regardless of the volatility in market prices and other external factors outside our control. We are well positioned to execute our growth strategy, and we are committed to making the right investments to support our operations and continue to serve our valued customers," said Cal-Maine CEO Dolph Baker.
Including Monday's plunge, shares of Cal-Maine are down nearly 13% over the past year.
