Dole Food Company has announced that it narrowed its loss during the third quarter of 2012, although revenues took a hit during a three-month period that also saw the sale of its worldwide packaged food and Asian fresh produce businesses to Itochu Corporation.
According to the group, comparable income from continuing operations came in at a loss of US$5.3m (€4.1m), down from a US$12.1m (€9.5m) loss in the same period of 2011, while GAAP loss from continuing operations improved from a negative result of US$47m (€36.8m) to a loss of US$13.6m (€10.7m).
Adjusted earning before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation climbed to US$62.4m (€48.9m) from US$61.1m (€47.9m) in the third quarter of 2011, although revenues slipped 6 per cent to US$2bn (€1.57bn), primarily as a result of the divestitures of two fresh fruit subsidiaries in Spain and Germany.
'During the third quarter we announced that Dole had signed an exclusive definitive agreement with Itochu Corporation for the sale of Dole’s worldwide Packaged Foods and Asia Fresh businesses for US$1.685bn in cash,' said David DeLorenzo, Dole’s President and CEO. 'We are pleased to say that this transaction is continuing on track, including the required regulatory approval process, and we do not foresee any issues in obtaining all required regulatory approvals as well as approval of our shareholders. We remain optimistic that the sale will be completed by the end of this year.'
'The third quarter was challenging on a number of fronts, including the continued quarantine issue between China and the Philippines, as well as adverse growing conditions and foreign exchange rates,' continued DeLorenzo. 'We are pleased that despite these events, we were able to improve performance, compared to last year, in most of our operating groups.'
Dole confirmed that the Itochu deal is subject to Dole stockholder approval and customary regulatory approvals, and is expected to close by 31 December.
