Cal-Maine Foods Inc. , the No. 1 egg producer and distributor in the U.S., swung to a profit in the fiscal fourth-quarter as the average price of its shell eggs rose nearly 30%. Cal-Maine said it earned $110 million, or $2.25 a share, in the quarter, contrasting with a loss of 9 cents a share in the year-ago period. Sales rose 70% to $593 million, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Cal-Maine to report earnings of $1.84 a share on sales of $576 million. “Fiscal year 2022 results reflect stable demand and an improved shell egg net average selling price, up 29.7%, to $1.579 per dozen,” the company said in a statement. Prices increased mostly thanks to diminishing supply caused by the recent avian influenza outbreak and supportive consumer demand, Cal-Maine said. More people also went for specialty eggs in fiscal 2022, the company said. Volumes for conventional eggs dropped 4.8% year-on-year while volumes of specialty eggs were up 16.7%, the company said. Overall, the company’s fourth quarter “marked a strong finish to fiscal 2022 for Cal-Maine Foods. Record quarterly revenue performance was driven by significantly higher average selling prices and record quarterly specialty shell egg sales, supported by solid demand compared with the prior-year quarter,” Chief Executive Dolph Baker said in a statement. Shares of Cal-Maine ended the regular trading day down 1.8%.
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