Egg producer Cal-Maine Foods Inc. ( NASDAQ: CALM) reported on Monday that its fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 32% to $27.2 million, or $1.14 per share. Revenue rose 7% from a year ago to $238.3 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had on average expected a $1.26 per share profit. The company said sales to the institutional and food-service sector in the quarter ended Nov. 29 were slower while feed costs remained high. They added that those prices are likely to remain relatively high and volatile over the year ahead.

Shares fell Monday by $1.97, or 6.7%, and continued to fall in after-hours trading. The share price is still up 4.4% in the past three months, and about the same as it was a year ago.

Shares of rivals Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT), Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN), and ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) also declined on Monday.

Based in Jackson, Miss., Cal-Maine is one of the largest fresh shell egg producers in the U.S., selling its products to supermarkets in 29 states. It has a market cap of $588.4 million and its operations include breeding facilities, hatcheries, wholesale distribution centers, feed mills, shell-egg production facilities, pullet-growing facilities, and processing and packing facilities.

Cal-Maine drops on Q2 earnings miss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.