Fresh Del Monte has announced that its board of directors has approved a new three-year share repurchase programme of up to US$150m (€118m) of the company's ordinary shares.

The repurchase programme is in addition to the company's existing share repurchase programme of US$150m, approved by the board in July last year, which has a remaining authorisation of around US$107m as of 5 May 2010.

The group announced last week that net income climbed slightly to US$36.2m through the first quarter (Q1) of 2010, or US$0.61 per dilutedshare, an improvement on the US$34.9m recorded during the correspondingperiod of 2009.

Net sales increased by 7 per cent to US$943.1m for the three-month period, up from US$879.7m lastyear, the result of higher net sales in the company's banana and prepared food business segments.

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