Del Monte Pacific's Q2 profit down 57.8% to US$20.2m on one-off expenses

MAINBOARD-LISTED Del Monte Pacific Limited on Tuesday posted a net profit of US$20.2 million for the second quarter, down 57.8 per cent.

This was due to one-off expenses of US$0.9 million for the three months as at end October from the closure of the North Carolina plant and severance. A year ago, there was a one-time net gain of US$31.9 million in the same period.

Excluding the one-off item, net profit for Q2 rose 32.9 per cent year on year to US$21 million.

Revenue for the quarter came in at US$636.2 million, down 4.6 per cent due to lower sales in the US, which was partially offset by the strong performance in the Philippines under the Del Monte brand, and rest of Asia under the S&W brand.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was down 30.8 per cent to US$71.4 million, dragged by the one-off expenses, while prior year period's net income included a one-time net gain of US$33.4 million mainly from the US subsidiary, Del Monte Foods, Inc's (DMFI's) retirement plan amendment.

The group's gross margin for Q2 grew to 23.1 per cent from 22.4 per cent a year ago, partly due to improvements in productivity in the cannery and lower commodity costs, particularly packaging.

In the first half of FY2017, the group's net profit was down 69.1 per cent to US$11.4 million, while revenue dipped 3.8 per cent year on year to US$1.1 billion.