Headquartered in Stockton, California, Diamond Foods, Inc. (DMND) is a specialty food company focused on processing, marketing and distribution of culinary, ingredient, in-shell, and snack nuts under the Diamond of California and Emerald of California brand names. Diamond's products include walnuts (60% of fiscal 2006 sales), pine nuts, pecans, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts and almonds. Founded in 1912, Diamond Foods is the U.S. leader in the culinary and in-shell nut category with a 37.4% market share. Culinary nuts (51% of fiscal 2007 sales) are sold in grocery stores, mass merchandisers and club stores while ingredient nuts (18%) are sold to food processors, restaurants and bakeries. In-shell nuts (11%) are also sold in grocery stores and mass merchants while snack nuts (19%) are distributed through convenience and drug stores. Diamond Foods products are sold in more than 60,000 retail locations in the United States (74% of fiscal 2007 sales) and internationally in more than 100 countries, primarily in Germany, Japan, Spain, and Italy. Management's long-term financial goal includes 6% to 8% total sales growth, along with attaining a 20% gross margin, a 10% operating margin, and average EPS growth of 40% to 50% annually through 2011.
In 2005, Diamond Foods converted from an agricultural cooperative association (Diamond Walnut Growers, Inc.) to a Delaware corporation. In July 2005, the company's initial public offering (IPO) of 6,900,000 common shares at $17.00 per share was completed with a listing on NASDAQ. Merrill Lynch & Company was the lead manager with Piper Jaffray and Harris Nesbitt acting as co-managers. The offering allowed the growers to monetize their previously illiquid ownership in the company. About 51% or 8 million shares of the shares outstanding are held by the former growers. On November 21, 2005, Diamond Foods was included into the Russell 3000 Index.
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