SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Diamond Foods Inc. reported a 27 percent jump in its fourth-quarter net income as it sold more of its nuts, popcorn and recently acquired Kettle brand chips.
The company, based in San Francisco, raised its full-year outlook. Its shares jumped in after-hours trading.
Diamond reported after the market closed Thursday that it earned $8.5 million, or 37 cents per share, for the fiscal quarter that ended July 31. That's up from $6.7 million, or 30 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
After adjusting for $9.4 million in acquisition and integration costs related to its purchase of Kettle Foods and its pending acquisition of Pringles, the company earned 52 cents per share.
Revenue rose 32 percent to $232.8 million for the quarter.
Analysts polled by FactSet anticipated the company would earn 44 cents per share on revenue of $216.3 million.
For the full fiscal year, Diamond earned $50.2 million, or $2.22 per share. That's up from $26.2 million, $1.36 per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis it earned $2.61 per share. Revenue rose 42 percent to $965.9 million for the year.
Analysts forecast annual earnings of $2.53 on revenue of $949.5 million.
Diamond, founded in 1912 by a group of California walnut growers, was known for nuts in shells for most of its history. But since Diamond went public in 2005, an acquisition binge has broadened its array of snacks.
It scooped up Pop Secret in 2008 and Kettle potato chips in 2010. And it announced in April that it was making its biggest acquisition yet by acquiring the Pringles brand from Procter & Gamble Co. for $1.5 billion. When complete, the deal will triple the size of its business and make it a distant second in the snack business to PepsiCo's Frito-Lay.
Diamond said that for the full 2012 fiscal year it expects adjusted earnings of $3.05 to $3.15 if the Pringles deal closes in the first half of December as anticipated. That is up from previous guidance of $3 to $3.10. The company expects revenue of $1.85 to $1.95 billion for the year
Analysts forecast earnings of $3.05 for the year on revenue of $1.59 billion.
Shares of Diamond Foods rose $1.76 to close at $78.23 and rose $4.16, more than 5 percent, to $81.10 in after-hours trading.
