Diamond Foods Inc

Diamond Foods, Inc. (DMND - Analyst Report) has continued its streak of beating Wall Street estimates. Earnings more than doubled in the past quarter for the food company.

Company Description

Diamond Foods is a branded food company specializing in processing, marketing, and distributing culinary, snack, in-shell and ingredient nuts under the Diamond of California and Emerald of California brands. Diamond's products include walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts and almonds.

The company distributes is products to Asia, Europe, and the U.S. under the Diamond, Emerald, and Harmony brand names. Diamond is headquartered in Stockton, California, employs 750 people, and has a market cap of $421 million.

An Excellent Quarter

Diamond reported second-quarter results for fiscal 2009 on Mar 11. The company announced earnings per share of 37 cents, beating the consensus by 7 cents. Earnings were up 118% on a year over year basis.

Net sales were $150.6 million, a 13% increase over the same quarter last year.

Michael J. Mendes, President and CEO, said "The attractive value proposition of our consumer franchise is driving strong growth and enabling us to achieve greater scale."

Excellent Growth

Currently, the full-year 2009 and 2010 consensus estimates are $1.31 and $1.65, respectively. These figures represent year-over-year growth rates of 44% and 26% as estimates continue to climb.

Management is expecting retail sales to grow by 18-22% on strong snack sales. Net sales are projected between $535 million and $565 million with roughly one third coming from snack foods.

The Chart

As you can see below, Diamond has an excellent history of surprising. The last quarter marks the seventh consecutive surprise.