Net income for the Dallas-based processor jumped to $66.4 million, or 42 cents a share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $32.6 million, or 24 cents a share, a year ago, reported The Dallas Morning News.
The jump was fueled largely by a drop in costs for items such as raw milk, fuel, energy and resin for bottles. The company’s cost for raw milk dropped 23% per hundredweight, and the company cut out 250 delivery routes, reducing diesel fuel costs by 5%. The earnings jump came despite a nearly 5% dip in fourth-quarter sales, to $3.1 billion from $3.2 billion a year ago.