Fresh Del Monte Q1 profit 27% down

Fresh Del Monte said on Monday that first-quarter earnings fell 27%, as strength in its banana business couldn't offset the negative impact of the strong dollar and quality issues with some fresh produce.

Chief Executive Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh said that results have been hurt by issues such as higher banana procurement costs, lower pineapple yields, and weather problems causing issues with the quality of tomato and grapes.

In the latest quarter, banana net sales grew 4% to $454 million as volume increased 6%. However, pricing fell by 2%, or 32 cents, to $14.89 a unit.

Sales of other fresh produce grew 2% to $465 million. Sales of prepared foods fell 2% to $90 million.

Overall, the company posted a profit of $42.5 million, or 80 cents a share, down from $58.6 million, or $1.04 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, per-share earnings fell to 83 cents from $1 a year earlier.

Revenue grew to $1 billion from $982 million the year before. This was mostly due to increased sales volume of fresh produce in North America.

Analysts had expected per-share earnings of 96 cents on revenue of $1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Shares, inactive premarket, have been up about 22% this year through Monday's close.

Source: MarketWatch and Bizjournals