Shares in fruit and vegetable giant Dole slumped the most in nine months on Wednesday, after second quarter revenue and net profit from continuing operations fell.
Revenue fell 0.8 per cent in the three months to the end of June to $2.12 billion (€1.9 billion), the Dublin-based company said in a statement. While net profit overall jumped to $88 million, much of that was driven by a $32 million gain from discontinued operations. Income from continuing business fell to $56 million from $63.8 million.
“We are pleased to report another strong result for the second quarter of 2024,” executive chairman Carl McCann said in a statement. “Our strong first half of the year, and positive momentum within the business, positions us well to deliver a good result for the 2024 financial year. Today, we are pleased to raise our full-year adjusted ebitda target to at least $370 million.”
Dole shares fell as much as 5.3 per cent in New York before recovering to be about 2.5 per cent lower by mid-morning.
Adjusted ebitda rose by $2.7 million during the quarter to $125.4 million. Much of that growth came from Dole’s fresh fruit unit, while the group has declared a cash dividend for the second quarter of 2024 of $0.08 per share.
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“While ebitda momentum may slow somewhat in [the second half of the year] reflecting potentially higher dry-docking costs in Fresh Fruit and the continued Progressive Produce disposal headwind, we see scope for mid-single digit upgrades to full-year estimates,” Goodbody analyst Patrick Higgins said in a research note.
“Adjusted net income decreased $1.3 million, predominantly due to higher tax expense, partially offset by the increases in adjusted ebitda,” Dole said. “Adjusted diluted [earnings per share] for the three months ended June 30, 2024 was $0.49 compared to $0.51 in the prior year,” it added.
[ Dole sale of fresh vegetables unit abandoned amid US regulator oppositionOpens in new window ]
The company paid off about $100 million of its term loan facilities as a result of the sale of its Progressive Produce business. The firm had net debts of $767.7 million at the end of June.
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