Fresh Del Monte has revealed a fall in profit for both the fourth quarter of 2008 and the full year, down from US$34.4m to US$22.9m and US$179.8m to US$157.7m respectively.
Net sales for the fourth quarter ended 26 December 2008 dropped from US$848.2m to US$831m, mainly a result of lower sales in the group's prepared food business segment.
However, in the banana segment, net sales improved 18 per cent to US$365.8m through the quarter, a result of increased selling prices in North America, Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, the group said.
Elsewhere, net sales for other fresh produce fell 8 per cent to US$341m, 'largely attributable' to lower sales in Del Monte's tomato, fresh-cut and melon product categories.
'During an extremely difficult economic environment, our solid fourth quarter performance is further evidence of our ongoing commitment to mitigate costs and drive productivity throughout our global organisation,' said group chairman and CEO Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh. 'Despite the difficult environment, we remained focused on the fundamentals that are critical to our success; prudently managing costs while investing in profitable core products and emerging markets that we believe will generate attractive returns for our shareholders over the long-term.'
Meanwhile, net sales fell from US$364.9m for the whole of 2007 to US$344m last year.
However, Mr Abu-Ghazaleh said that he remained 'extremely optimistic' that the group would be able to weather the current economic storm by focusing on cost-cutting and pricing initiatives
'The uncertainty in the global economy will continue to present obstacles. However, despite the challenging conditions, we are fortunate to have one of the most talented teams in the industry, possessing an unrelenting focus on growth, the bottom line and our continuous cost savings programme,' he said.
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