The 2008 earnings for the Minnetonka, Minn., company were on sales of $301 million, up from $229 million last year.
The division’s earnings were the result of improved food ingredient egg products and shell egg markets, including record high Urner Barry egg markets, says President and CEO David Johnson.
“Our retail liquid egg products also had a solid quarter as a result of strong volume growth. These earnings improvements were mitigated by a decline in earnings from our foodservice egg products due to continued rising costs, primarily grain and energy-related costs, which we were unable to fully pass through to our customers in a timely manner.
“Looking ahead, we need to continue to address the significant cost pressures facing us through internal productivity efforts and passing-on raw material and energy-related increases through pricing,” Johnson says.