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Chiquita Brands International has reported that net profit for the first quarter of the year (Q1) declined 26 per cent compared with 2008, with net income down from US$31m (€23.3m) in 2008 to US$23m (€17.3m).

Net sales during the period dropped 10 per cent to US$842m (€634m), as a result of lower euro exchange rates hitting European banana sales and a reduction in foodservice and retail volumes in North American salad operations.

'Our first quarter was strong, especially considering the challenges we faced from currency and temporary flood-related costs,' said group chairman and CEO Fernando Aguirre. 'We now have our head start on the year, and we are confident in the execution of our profit improvement and cost reduction initiatives and our plan to improve full-year 2009 results on a comparable basis.'

Net sales in the banana segment decreased by 8 per cent to US$485m (€365m), with operating income in the sector dropping 34 per cent to US$40m (€30.1m), down from US$61m (€46m) in 2008.

Sales of salads and healthy snacks dropped 16 per cent to US$281m (€212m), mainly as a result of lower foodservice and retail sales following the cancellation of contracts and rationalisation of non-profitable products.

'Our banana results remained relatively strong,' Mr Aguirre added. 'We are also pleased with the early evidence of improvement in our performance in value-added salads. We are on track to achieve our full-year target of 3-4 per cent operating margins in salads in 2009, which is a significant improvement versus last year, as a direct result of the actions taken in the last several quarters related to pricing, cost reduction and network efficiencies.

The group added that while first-quarter sales were better than expected, its full-year outlook remained stable, with improved results anticipated by the end of 2009.