(By Balachander) Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM), a producer of shell eggs, reported quarterly earnings that tripled from last year on higher sales.
Earnings were $9.4 million or $0.39 per share for the first quarter, compared with $3.1 million or $0.13 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Net sales rose 12 percent to $272.9 million. Volumes were at about the same level, reflecting higher average market prices for shell eggs, the company noted.
Sales of specialty eggs represented 23.5 percent of shell egg revenue, CALM noted.
For fiscal 2013, Jackson, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine expects feed costs at near record high levels because of the damage to the national corn and grain crops caused by the extreme summer drought conditions.
For the first quarter, Cal-Maine declared a cash dividend of about $0.13 per share to holders of its common and Class A common stock, payable November 15, 2012, to shareholders of record on October 31, 2012.
The stock, which has been trading in the 52-week range between $30.43 and $44.98, ended Friday's regular trading session at $44.94.