Dole’s 1st-Quarter Profit Rises 62%

Dole Food Co., the world’s largest fruit and vegetable producer, Thursday posted a 62% jump in first-quarter earnings, helped by higher vegetable prices and lower costs.

Westlake Village-based Dole said net income grew to $56.3 million, or 99 cents a share, from $34.7 million, or 62 cents, a year earlier, as sales rose 2.7% to $1.06 billion.

The results handily beat analysts’ average estimate of 68 cents, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.

Dole reduced costs by entering into more favorable contracts with suppliers for commodities and paying less for fuel and paperboard to package its produce, analysts said. The company also benefited from a lettuce shortage, which led to higher prices industrywide, Dole said.

“They are just enjoying an exciting time in the market right now,” said George Dahlman, an analyst with U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray who rates Dole shares “outperform” and doesn’t own them.

Higher banana prices also boosted profit. A trade dispute in Europe over bananas weighed on Dole’s sales in the year-ago period.

Dole shares rose $1.23 to $31.80 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Other earnings from California companies:

* Callaway Golf Co., the largest golf club maker, reported a 10% decline in first-quarter earnings to $30.7 million, or 45 cents a share, and said second-quarter profit might miss earlier projections because of declining sales in Japan. The results, reported after the markets closed, beat analysts’ expectations of 42 cents. Sales slipped 1.9% to $256.4 million, and were down 24% in Japan amid a tougher economic and competitive climate than anticipated, the Carlsbad company said. Callaway projected second-quarter profit of 38 cents to 48 cents a share, compared with analysts’ forecasts of 45 cents to 49 cents.

* Cheesecake Factory Inc. reported after the markets closed that net income rose 26% to $10.6 million, or 21 cents a share, in its first quarter, helped by lower costs. Revenue rose 25% to $150.2 million in the quarter ended April 2, and sales at restaurants open at least a year were up 2%. The Calabasas company said it plans to add as many as 12 restaurants during the fiscal year.

* Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. said net income rose 25% in its fiscal second quarter to $26.9 million, or 49 cents a share, including a change in accounting to eliminate the amortization of goodwill, as revenue grew 10% to $1.1 billion. Without the accounting change, profit would have been about 51 cents, the Pasadena company said. Analysts were expecting 48 cents. Jacobs also said its backlog of orders was up 0.9% to a record $6.5 billion when the quarter ended March 31.

* Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. said first-quarter net income more than doubled to $23.3 million, or 51 cents a share, helped by lower newsprint costs and an improving advertising market as well as a change in accounting rules. Revenue declined 4% to $252.6 million. The Sacramento-based company also said second-quarter profit would exceed analysts’ expectations by up to 4 cents a share.

* 99 Cents Only Stores said net income grew 25% in its first quarter to $12.5 million, or 18 cents a share, a penny better than analysts’ average forecast, on a 30% jump in sales to $163 million. The City of Commerce-based retailer’s sales at stores open at least a year climbed 8%.

The company said it plans to continue expanding its chain of stores by 25% a year and sees annual earnings growth at 20%.

* Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. said net income fell 41% to $7.5 million, or 24 cents a share, in its first quarter ended March 31, as revenue fell 6% to $405.5 million. The Los Angeles-based company’s operating profit of 21 cents, which excludes a benefit of 3 cents due to a change in the accounting of goodwill amortization, was in line with analysts’ forecasts.

* Meade Instruments Corp. of Irvine said its net loss narrowed to $1.8 million, or 12 cents a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, from a net loss of $4.7 million, or 31 cents, a year ago. Sales declined 28% to $16 million.

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Bloomberg News was used in compiling this report.