Dean Foods, the second largest dairy company in the US, has refused to be drawn on the reason for the sudden departure of its chairman of 14 years, Tom C Davis.

On 7 August, in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Dean Foods announced Davis was leaving the company with immediate effect.

During a conference call on Monday, Ken Goldman from JP Morgan asked CEO Gregg Tanner if he could provide colour on Davis’s departure, which he said had left Dean Foods’ shareholders assuming the worst.

Tanner replied: “I appreciate the question but really have nothing further that I can add other than the fact we feel more optimistic than ever about the future of Dean Foods, and a succession plan will be announced in due course.”

Dean Foods reported revenues of $2.01bn for the second quarter of 2015, down from $2.39bn for the same period in 2014. The company reported a profit of $26.5m, or $2.28 per share, for the three-month period, up from $645,000 for the first three months of 2014.