Darling International (DAR), the largest publicly traded recycler of food waste (mostly fryer grease) reported mixed earnings yesterday, reporting an EPS that was in line with estimates at .06/share but revenues that were shy of expectations at $133 million.  That’s a big drop in growth over the year ago period with an EPS drop of 77% and a revenue drop of 33%, but as is always the case, no matter how bad the quarter, the CEO is pleased.  Just once it would be nice to hear a CEO say we sucked last quarter.  The Street seems to like the future prospects of the company though with the stock surging 9% and pushing above the 200 day moving average today.

Darling International Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randall Stuewe said, “We are off to an improved start in first quarter 2009 versus the challenges we faced in the fourth quarter 2008. The major optics of our business are presently favorable relative to history, however, raw material volumes remain sluggish. Overall, we are pleased with our performance in first quarter as we were able to reduce our operating costs to compensate for the lower input volumes.”

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