May 5, 2004 1:08 PM, from staff and wire reports

Dean Foods Co, the Dallas TX-based dairy processing giant, saw its first-quarter 2004 net income rise 10% to $69.2 million, compared with $63.2 million in the prior-year first quarter.

Net sales for the first quarter totaled $2.5 billion, an increase of 14% over the first quarter of 2003, primarily due to the acquisitions of Horizon Organic and Ross-Swiss Dairies in 2004 and the acquisitions of Melody Farms and Kohler Mix Specialties in 2003; increased selling prices resulting from higher raw material costs; and growth in strategic brand volumes.

In the first quarter, Dean Foods completed the closure of one Dairy Group plant in South Gate CA and identified five more Dairy Group plants for closure, all as part of its strategy to lower costs and rationalize manufacturing assets.