NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (AP) _ Welbilt Inc. (WBT) on Thursday reported first-quarter net income of $7.9 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

The New Port Richey, Florida-based company said it had net income of 6 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 8 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 3 cents per share.

The food and beverage equipment maker posted revenue of $316.8 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $289.1 million.

Welbilt shares have increased 66% since the beginning of the year. The stock has more than quadrupled in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WBT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WBT

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