OREANDA-NEWS. December 31, 2010. Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC [NYSE: WBD] announced its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010.

Highlights for the third quarter and nine months of 2010

• Group revenue increased 18.8% year-on-year to USD 1,895.9 million in the first nine months of 2010, and 22.3% year-on-year to USD 640.9 million in the third quarter of 2010, driven primarily by strong volume growth across all business segments

• Group gross profit grew 4.5% to USD 576.6 million in the first nine months of 2010 from USD 551.9 million in the same period last year, and 6.5% to USD 200.8 million in the third quarter of 2010 from USD 188.6 million in the third quarter of 2009

• Group gross margin declined 420 basis points year-on-year to 30.4% in the first nine months of 2010, as a result of continued pressure of raw milk costs

• EBITDA  was USD 239.6 million in the first nine months of 2010 compared to USD 246.6 million in the same period of 2009

• Net income declined to USD 92.7 million in the first nine months of 2010 from USD 109.4 million in the first nine months of 2009

“Yet again we delivered strong volume growth in each of our business segments,” said Tony Maher, Wimm-Bill-Dann’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our strong sales growth and stable bottom line, despite record raw milk prices, are a testament to our ability to adjust our sales mix, the power of our brands and the strength of relationships with our suppliers, our customers and our consumers.”

“We saw a robust 15% jump in group volumes in the third quarter and 10% increase for the first nine months of the year. The unusually hot summer led to an unprecedented spike in raw milk prices which has affected all players. Our long-term supplier relationships allowed us to manage this challenge better than others and our unrelenting focus on cost and supply chain management helped us reduce the impact on our margins. In particular, we were pleased by our ability to deliver sequential improvement in our dairy gross margins of 60 basis points during the third quarter.”

“Group revenue increased 22.3% in the third quarter of 2010 from the same period a year ago to USD 640.9 million, driven by volume growth across all of our business segments.”

“We are also very pleased with the recently announced agreement with PepsiCo. This transaction is a great vote of confidence in the Russian market and recognizes the value of Wimm-Bill-Dann’s strong, high-growth platform and product portfolio, while bringing tremendous value to our shareholders. PepsiCo is a global leader in the food and beverage industry and we are excited about the opportunities that this deal brings. Together we will be the largest FMCG company in Russia with a comprehensive portfolio of products and an unmatched distribution network that will deliver benefits to our shareholders, customers, suppliers and employees,” concluded Mr. Maher.