World’s largest blueberry producer closes September with losses of US$59.19mn, and moves forward with production shifts in key markets
Chile’s Hortifrut reported a loss attributable to shareholders of US$59.19mn to September 2025, reversing the US$8.77mn profit obtained in the same period last year.
According to the company, the main reasons for the decline were the closure of some operations in Mexico that were not generating the expected results, and the implementation of a process of varietal replacement in Peru and China to replace less profitable farms with more productive varieties or those that achieve better market prices.
Both measures resulted in an unusual accounting adjustment that impacted the firm’s equity and put downward pressure on the period’s results. Equity decreased by 9.01per cent to US$506.5mn, while profitability fell from 1.41 per cent to -11.69 per cent. These figures reflect the magnitude of the impact of non-operational factors on results, in a context where 2024 had already been a year of record losses.
Despite the deterioration, net financial debt remained stable at US$776.8mn, thanks to refinancings that shifted maturities to long-term dates. Meanwhile, quarterly Ebitda reached US$135.1mn, a 5.56 per cent increase driven by a 32.27 per cent rise in sales volume, which partially offset the price decline following the post-El Niño market normalisation.
Consolidated revenue totalled US$842.1mn, a year-over-year increase of 10.88 per cent. Fresh fruit sales grew by 14.99 per cent, while the value-added business declined by 14.72 per cent due to lower prices.
The company described 2025 as a transition year: the closure of fields in Mexico and varietal replacements in Peru and China aim to strengthen the portfolio’s competitiveness and adapt to international markets.
