Russia's WBD Q1 net profit up 30.6 pct, beats f'cast

MOSCOW, June 6 (Reuters) - Wimm-Bill-Dann (WBD) (WBD.N), Russia's leading dairy produce firm, posted a 30.6 percent rise in first-quarter net profit on Friday, beating market expectations.

WBD said in a statement earnings rose to $41.9 million from $32.1 million in the same period of 2007, while analysts expected them to be $39.1 million.

Sales rose by 34.8 percent to $731.9 million, also above the average forecast of $729.3 million in a Reuters poll. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Melissa Akin)