Dole Food Company has outlined its set of financial results for the third quarter of 2010, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increasing by 19 per cent to US$101m (€73.7m) from US$85m (€62m) last year.
While revenues climbed 3 per cent from US$1.94bn (€1.4bn) in 2009 to US$1.99bn (€1.45bn) during the quarter, the US-based group reported a loss from continuing operations of US$53m (€38.7m), or US$0.61 per share.
'Despite challenging conditions in our fresh fruit segment, we reported strong financial results for the third quarter,' said Dole president and CEO David DeLorenzo. 'Adjusted EBITDA increased US$16m to US$101m, and we reduced net debt by US$25m during the quarter and US$71m year-to-date.
'The strong turnaround in our fresh vegetables segment continued during the third quarter, with adjusted EBITDA growing by US$10m on higher pricing and volumes,' he noted. 'Our packaged foods segment also continued to perform well, with successful new product introductions and year-to-date results ahead of last year.'
According to Dole, the group's fresh-packed vegetable and packaged salad businesses benefited from higher pricing in North America, while fresh fruit adjusted EBITDA dropped due to lower earnings in the European ripening and distribution business as well as higher banana costs in Europe and North America.
'During the quarter we began implementation of our plans to downsize and restructure our European banana operations,' Mr DeLorenzo added. 'These one-time restructuring actions are expected to result in direct savings of approximately US$34m in 2011. We believe our restructuring efforts will reduce our costs, improve our profitability and generally better align our operations with the current European market.'
No comments yet