Del Monte ’13 profit down to $16.1M

Food manufacturer Del Monte Pacific Ltd. halved its 2013 net profit to $16.1 million due to one-time expenses arising from its big US consumer food business acquisition and the listing of its shares on the local stock market.

Taking out nonrecurring expenses, last year’s net profit would have risen by 5 percent to $33.9 million, DMPL told the Philippine Stock Exchange last week.

DMPL’s net profit in 2012 amounted to $32.2 million.

“The full year 2013 results —without the nonrecurring expenses—were in line with earlier guidance that the group’s 2013 profits are expected to be better compared to that of the same period last year,” the company said.

For 2014, DMPL expects to generate higher earnings on a recurring basis in the first quarter but report a lower nonrecurring net income afterwards due to one-off transaction fees in closing the $1.675-billion acquisition of Del Monte Foods’ US business.

DMPL plans to align its fiscal year with that of Del Monte Foods (May to April financial year), as the US business is expected to account for about 80 percent of the enlarged group’s sales.

“Group earnings will improve in the new financial year 2015 (May 2014-April 2015) as it drives both top-line growth across its key markets in the USA, the Philippines and rest of Asia, optimizes synergies and manages cost actively,” DMPL said.

Last year’s group turnover grew by 7 percent to a record $492.2 million, attributed to better performance for the Del Monte brand in the Philippines and in the Indian subcontinent and S&W in Asia and the Middle East. Doris C. Dumlao