Dole Food Company president Michael Carter has pointed to savings in the company’s fresh fruit and vegetable sector for its strong financial performance over the second quarter of 2013.
The US fresh produce giant has reported a profit of US$234.1m over the three months to 15 June, up from US$64.1m over the corresponding period of 2012, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Quarter-on-quarter revenue rose 10 per cent to US$1.2m. Financial analysts had forecast revenue of US$1.1bn for the quarter, according to Thomson Financial Network.
Carter said the company’s expenditure on fresh fruit and vegetables over the quarter was close to US$30m lower than expected.
Revenue generated by fresh fruit sales rose by 12 per cent, largely due to a spike in North American banana sales, while fresh vegetables revenue improved 3.9 per cent.
“The results this quarter are reflective of the inherent volatility and unpredictability of earnings from Dole’s smaller footprint as an international commodity produce company,” Carter said in a prepared statement.
The quarter included US$22m in costs relating to Dole's US$1.7bn sale of its packaged-goods and Asian fresh-foods businesses to Japanese conglomerate Itochu in April.
