IRVING, Texas, Nov. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR), a global leader in converting edible and inedible bio-nutrient streams into a wide range of ingredients and specialty products for customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, feed, technical, fuel, bioenergy, and fertilizer industries, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended October 3, 2015.
For the third quarter of 2015, the Company reported net sales of $853.8 million, as compared with net sales of $978.7 million for the third quarter of 2014. The $124.9 million decrease in net sales is attributable to lower finished product prices, primarily in the global competing ingredients prices and the foreign exchange rate impact of a weaker euro and Canadian dollar. Overall, global raw material volumes were stronger year over year.
Net loss attributable to Darling for the three months ended October 3, 2015, was $(9.1) million, or $(0.06) per diluted share, compared to a net income of $14.3 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, in the three months ended September 27, 2014. This decrease is attributable to the impact of foreign exchange rates as a function of the strengthening U.S. dollar as compared mainly to the euro and Canadian dollar and the impact of tax expense, which includes discrete items that do not have a direct relationship with pre-tax earnings and a deferred tax asset write-down in a foreign jurisdiction, which were partially offset by improvements in operations. If extenders legislation is passed this year which is the same or similar to last year's package including the Biofuel Tax Credit and the Look-Through Rule, we expect the effective tax rate for the year to be about the same as last year, which was 16%.
Comments on Third Quarter 2015
"Despite a difficult pricing environment, we continued to execute in the third quarter on our long term strategy of building our global platform to create sustainable feed, food and fuel ingredients for a growing world population. Our Feed segment continues to perform well, with global rendering recording strong volumes and predictable earnings. Scheduled plant turnarounds at 3 gelatin factories during the quarter significantly impacted the Food segment earnings. The Fuel segment delivered as expected but was down sequentially due to the tough environment in the US bio-diesel industry. We remain confident that the reinstatement of the US Tax Extenders will retroactively deliver the blenders tax credit as expected," said Randall Stuewe, Darling Ingredients Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
"Operationally, our global team continues to find ways to improve our cost structure and maintain our margins. Targets for working capital improvement, operating cost reductions and SG&A improvement are all being met. From a balance sheet perspective, we remain focused on delivering and setting the stage for future growth," concluded Mr. Stuewe.
For the complete press release and full financial results, please visit the Company's website at http://ir.darlingii.com.