CORAL GABLES, FL – Shares in Fresh Del Monte surged this morning after the company posted a 43 percent increase in profits for its third quarter.
As of 12:09 pm EDT this morning, the company’s stock rose approximately 10 percent to $46.50.
Some of the biggest contributors to Fresh Del Monte’s success this quarter were the company’s excellent growth in its fresh-cut and avocado businesses, as well as higher sales volume in North America and higher selling prices in the Middle East.
As for Fresh Del Monte’s banana business, sales rose 0.3 percent to $425.2 million. In the fresh-cut category, net sales increased 32 percent to $126.3 million on higher volume and pricing. For non-tropical items, net sales increased 9 percent to $52 million on higher volume and lower pricing.
Chairman and CEO Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh said that he was pleased with Fresh Del Monte’s financial performance this quarter, noting that avocados are becoming one of the company’s fastest growing categories.
“We look to aggressively capitalize on our position as a leader in avocados to meet growing customer demand,” he said in a press release. “Our results were further shaped by our focus on higher value products, continued expansion of our geographic presence, further leveraging of our distribution and marketing channels, innovative opportunities with new customers globally, and closer relationships with existing customers.”
Highlights from this quarter include:
- Net sales for the third quarter were $936.1 million, compared with $884.6 million during the same time last year
- Gross profit for the third quarter was $83.3 million, compared with $73.9 million during the same time last year
- Operating income for the third quarter was $34.4 million, compared with $29.3 million during the same time last year
- Net income for the third quarter was $28.5 million, compared with $19.9 million during the same time last year
“Over the years, our team has done an exceptional job in transforming our Company for long-term growth and profitability by focusing on our fundamental strengths, and further leveraging our healthy and convenient product lines and geographic presence, allowing us to build a formidable strategic advantage for our Company as demonstrated by our third quarter achievements,” Abu-Ghazaleh continued.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to track the financial performance of produce companies across the industry.
