Fresh produce giant Chiquita Brands International has hailed its “best quarterly performance” in a decade after underlying profits jumped in the three months to June.
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The company yesterday (6 August) booked income from continuing operations of US$95m for the second quarter of 2009 – up 72% on the year.
The result was measured on a “comparable basis”, Chiquita said, and excluded one-off costs linked to a restructuring initiative in Europe.
Net sales were down 4% at $955m as a cut in foodservice volumes hit salad sales. However, Chiquita’s salad business swung to an operating income of $30m, compared to a loss of $6m a year earlier.
Chairman and CEO Fernando Aguirre said: “We are particularly pleased with our value-added salads business which is showing significant and sustainable profit improvement.
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By GlobalData“The plans we began executing several months ago to achieve network efficiencies and manufacturing cost reductions are working well. Additionally, our profit focus continues to deliver strong results in bananas, which benefited from record high pricing in Europe and sustained pricing in North America.”
Net sales from Chiquita’s banana business fell 1%, hit by currency fluctuation. However, high prices boosted operating income, which rose 8% to $96m.
