CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.'s net income sagged 49 percent in the third quarter as the prior-year period was helped by a large income tax benefit and banana production costs rose.
The seller of prepared and fresh fruits and vegetables reported Tuesday that its earnings fell to $14.5 million, or 24 cents per share, from $28.6 million, or 45 cents per share, a year earlier.
Taking out a credit of 2 cents per share related to an insurance recovery from flood damage to the company's Guatemala banana farms, earnings were 22 cents per share.
The performance fell short of the 27 cents per share that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected. These estimates normally remove one-time items.
Chairman and CEO Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh said in a statement that poor weather caused higher production costs for Guatemala banana farming. Unfavorable exchange rates and a challenging European banana market also weighed on results, he added.
Revenue for the period ended Oct. 1 rose 4 percent to $793.1 million from $766.2 million, helped by increased banana volume in North America and the Middle East, higher volume and increased prices for gold pineapple products and prepared foods and a bigger presence in new markets.
Wall Street forecast $797.4 million in revenue.
