Del Monte income down

The Campos family-led Del Monte Pacific Ltd. posted a 5-percent year-on-year decline in nine-month net profit to $17.8 million on one-time expenses from its dual listing and the proposed acquisition of the consumer food business of American corporation Del Monte Foods (DMF).

Without the non-recurring expenses, net profit for the first nine months would have been $20.7 million, or up 11 percent from the level a year ago, DMPL disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

For the third quarter alone, base net profit of $8.9 million was 7 percent higher than the same period last year but after incurring one-off transaction fees of $1.7 million for the proposed US acquisition, net profit was down by 13 percent to $7.2 million.

For the nine-month period, sales went up by 12 percent year-on-year to $335.4 million on higher volume and better sales mix.

Sales in the Philippines for the nine-month period grew by 11 percent versus the same period last year on growth across all major product categories and favorable sales mix. Sales of S&W branded processed segment increased 6 percent driven by demand from China and the Middle East. Meanwhile, the S&W branded fresh business expanded by 24 percent driven by robust sales in Japan, China and Korea.

The group likewise had higher supply of the premium fresh fruit which satisfied the strong fresh demand. The nonbranded business grew by 14 percent due to better volume but operating income was down by 58 percent due to lower pineapple juice concentrate prices and increase in warehousing costs. These were partly offset by higher volume and better sales mix. Doris C. Dumlao