OREANDA-NEWS. September 10, 2010. Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC [NYSE: WBD] announced its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE SECOND QUARTER AND FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2010

Group revenue increased 17.1% year-on-year to USD 1,255.1 million in the first half of 2010, and 15.3% year-on-year to USD 639.8 million in the second quarter of 2010, driven primarily by healthy volume growth in all business segments

Group gross profit increased to USD 375.8 million in the first six months of 2010 from USD 363.4 million in the same period last year, and to USD 203.7 million in the second quarter of 2010 from USD 195.3 million in the second quarter of 2009

Group gross margin declined 400 basis points year-on-year to 29.9% as a result of continued pressure of raw milk costs in the first six months of 2010

Group gross margin increased consecutively to 31.8%  in the second quarter of 2010 from 28.0% in the first quarter of 2010

EBITDA  increased to USD 159.7 million in the first six months of 2010 from USD 158.3 million in the same period of 2009, and to USD 86.2 million in the second quarter of 2010 from USD 85.2 million in the second quarter of 2009

Net income increased 7.1% year-on-year to USD 69.5 million in the first half of 2010

“Our performance continues to be strong, with significant improvements in market share across our dairy, beverages, and baby food segments, as demand restores back to levels we have not seen since before the global economic crisis,” said Tony Maher, Wimm-Bill-Dann’s Chief Executive Officer. “However, we continue to face the challenges in raw milk procurement, which adversely impacted our gross margins in the dairy segment in the second quarter. Despite some temporary input difficulties, we are favorably positioned across our segments to achieve our objective of expanding profitability through efficiency gains and a greater share in high value categories.

“Group revenue improved 17.1% to USD 1,225.1 million in the first six months driven by volume growth in our dairy, beverages and baby food segments and favorable pricing across all segments. Group revenue in rubles increased 6.6% versus the same period a year ago,” concluded Mr. Maher.