LISTED Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) expects its United States operations to improve in the next two years, its chief financial officer said.
The improvements and profitability of the company’s US operations, led by Del Monte Foods, Inc. (DMFI), are anticipated by fiscal year 2026, DMPL Chief Financial Officer Parag Sachdeva said during the company’s annual general meeting in Singapore on Aug. 30. The minutes of the meeting were disclosed to the local bourse on Monday.
He said the local unit, Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI), is expected to achieve double-digit growth for fiscal year 2025.
Despite the positive outlook, Mr. Sachdeva said that DMPL is expecting a net loss for fiscal year 2025 due to “high inventory levels and wastage-related costs.”
He also said that the company is already addressing these costs to improve profitability.
In July, DMPL said that it was focusing on selectively selling assets, injecting equity through partnerships, rightsizing its workforce, and reducing fixed costs to achieve a “reduced” net loss in 2025.
The company formed a task force to improve gross margins and cut costs, particularly in the US and across DMPL, starting in the second half of fiscal year 2025.
Some of DMPL’s cost-cutting initiatives include lowering inventory, minimizing waste and write-offs, cutting warehousing and distribution costs, consolidating manufacturing operations, enhancing planning through digitization, ensuring clear organizational accountability, and improving productivity for processed pineapple variety C74 over the next 12 to 24 months.
For the fiscal year ending April 2024, DMPL saw a $127.3-million net loss from a $16.9-million net income the previous year.
The company recorded a 30.4% decline in gross profit to $422.2 million due to inventory-related costs in its US operations and reduced pineapple supply in Asia.
DMPL has business interests in growing, processing, and selling packaged fruits, vegetables, and tomatoes, fresh pineapples, sauces, condiments, pasta, broth, and juices.
On Monday, DMPL stocks rose by 0.49% or two centavos to P4.12 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
