MGP Ingredients reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014. Net income was $4.7 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, compared to net income of $1.4 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the first quarter of the prior year.
Results from the prior year quarter included a profit of $1.4 million, net of tax, from discontinued operations and zero earnings per share from continuing operations.
Net sales for the first quarter declined by approximately 9% from the year-ago quarter. Beverage alcohol sales improved significantly on higher shipments from the Indiana distillery.
Sales of industrial alcohol and by-products both declined compared to the same period a year ago. Ingredient segment sales in the first quarter declined from a year ago.
The Company's gross profit during the first quarter was $6.8 million, or 8.6 percent of net sales, compared to $7.2 million, or 8.3 percent of net sales in the prior year period.
The ingredients segment reported first quarter pre-tax operating income of $0.2 million, or approximately 2.1 percent of sales, compared to income of $1.5 million, or approximately 10.2 percent of sales, for the same quarter a year ago. Segment profitability in the first quarter was driven primarily by a lower margin mix of products sold.
Ingredient segment sales for the first quarter declined by 8.7 percent to $14 million from the prior year's quarter following a decline in flour prices of 10.9 percent compared to the previous year.
