Total Produce, the fruit and vegetable distributor, has reported a 10 per cent fall in pretax profit to €29.8 million for 2008 and said it remains cautious about prospects for this year.
The company recorded an exceptional charge of €4.6 million last year connected with the closure costs of plants in Ireland and the UK and the revaluation of a property.
Annual revenues rose 3.5 per cent to €2.5 billion thanks to contributions from its Netherlands acquisitions Haluco and Nedalpac which Total Produce bought last year.
Company chairman Carl McCann said the company had achieved satisfactory earnings growth of 6.6 per cent to €46.5 million but warned that the company may not match this performance this year.
Operating profit, pre-exceptionals, rose to €39.9 compared to €37.6 million in 2007.
Total Produce is recommending a final dividend of 1.15 cent per share to final the annual dividend to 1.69 cent, a rise of 2.4 per cent on the dividend for 2007.
Looking forward Mr McCann said the company's results may also be affected by movements in other currencies against the euro.
“However, Total Produce remains positive regarding the fundamentals in its markets and its position as one of the leading fresh produce companies in Europe.”
“The group is targeting a very solid earnings performance for 2009 with adjusted earnings per share in the range of 5.5 to 6.5 cent per share on 2009 target revenues of €2.6 billion,” he said.
At 8.45am shares in Total Produce were 5 per cent higher at 20 cent giving the company a market value of €70 million. Shares in the company have fallen by 64 per cent over the last year.
