Chiquita announces $408 million losses

Chiquita Brands International, Inc. has released financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012. The company reported GAAP net loss of $408 million in 2012 compared to GAAP net income of $57 million for the full year 2011. Results for 2012 include $182 million of impairment charges principally related to the goodwill and trademarks of its salad operations, $130 million of valuation allowances against U.S. deferred income tax assets, $35 million for restructuring and relocation charges and $32 million of impairment charges related to its Danone joint venture. The company also reported comparable operating income[1] of $7 million for 2012 compared to comparable operating income of $78 million for 2011.

For the fourth quarter of 2012, Chiquita reported GAAP net loss of $335 million compared to GAAP net loss of $16 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. Results for the fourth quarter of 2012 include $180 million of impairment charges related to the goodwill and trademarks of its salad operations, $130 million of valuation allowances against U.S. deferred income tax assets and $5 million for restructuring and relocation charges. The company reported a comparable operating loss[1] of $14 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to a comparable operating loss of $2 million in the same period of 2011.

"Chiquita has made significant progress implementing its refocused strategic direction in the second half of 2012, and is well positioned for future growth," said Ed Lonergan, Chiquita's president and chief executive officer. "Nevertheless, after adjusting for non-comparable items, both the fourth quarter and the full year reflect the challenges the company faced throughout the year and present difficult comparisons to prior periods due to the impact of euro exchange rates and lower retail salad results. However, we also have experienced higher local banana pricing in Europe as a result of a relatively balanced banana market and have benefited from savings associated with our value chain and corporate restructurings."

Lonergan continued, "Chiquita has momentum as we start 2013. We remain focused on our core businesses of bananas and salads, and recent successes in both areas will add profitable volume in the coming year. In addition, our value chain and overhead reduction initiatives are substantially complete and further opportunities exist. We are already seeing tangible benefits and remain confident in our ability to achieve our long-term target operating margins. As well, the recent refinancing provides us with financial flexibility and capability to focus fully on delivering against our refreshed strategic choices."

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