Dean Foods Co. shares took a beating early Tuesday, falling nearly 10% on a rough fourth-quarter report. Not that the country’s biggest milk processor and distributor didn’t hit Wall Street’s numbers. It did.
What hurt Dean Foods’ share price was the company’s warning that the milk industry faces a “very challenging environment” in the first half of 2014, and those challenges are going to be felt all along the food chain.
During the fourth quarter, Dean Foods, whose brands include Berkeley Farms, Dean’s and Tuscan, said its share of the nation’s milk market grew to 35.7% from 34.9% a year ago. But company and USDA estimates show milk sales fell 2.2% industry-wide over the same period.
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