Green Mountain Coffee 4Q Profit Doubles

WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. said Wednesday its profit doubled in the fiscal fourth quarter and the full year, but said first-quarter profit was likely to come in below analyst expectations.

Green Mountain shares fell $7.12, or 9.4 percent, to $68.79 in after-hours trading Wednesday following its earnings and outlook, after closing at $75.91, up 3.8 percent, in the regular session.

The company, based in Waterbury, Vt., issued first-quarter profit guidance of 11 cents to 15 cents per share, below an analyst expectation of 19 cents per share and the 37 cents per share it earned a year earlier. Analyst expectations typically exclude one-time items.

It also raised its profit estimate for fiscal 2010 to a range of $1.75 to $1.85 per share from an earlier $1.70 to $1.80 per share. Analysts expect $1.77 per share.

In the fourth quarter ended Sept. 26, the specialty coffee seller earned $14.4 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with $7.1 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted 33 cents per share.