SINGAPORE - Food company Del Monte Pacific Limited (DMPL) was hit by a US$2.2 million net loss in its financial third quarter ended January 31, 2015, due mainly to acquisition expenses.
DMPL had a net loss of US$6.4 million in the year-ago quarter. For the nine months ended Jan 31, the company had a net loss of US$23.9 million, compared with the year-ago profit of US$6.5 million.
The Philippine-based company completed its acquisition of Del Monte Foods in the United States in February, and the group's net loss in the period was resulted partly from higher interest expenses related to the acquisition, DMPL said when announcing its results on Wednesday.
The non-recurring expenses offset a US$637.6 million turnover, which grew over four times compared with the same period the year before. The strong sales volume was lifted by a US$511 million contribution by Del Monte Foods, following a 21 per cent increase in US turnover in the period.
Excluding the non-recurring expenses, net income would be US$11.3 million, DMPL added.
The results came just days after the group - dual-listed in Singapore and the Philippines - raised around US$150 million from a rights issue.
"We are encouraged by the strong support of our shareholders to the rights offer which was oversubscribed. Deleveraging DMPL's balance sheet and undertaking an international offering of perpetual securities when market conditions improve remain a key priority," chief executive Joselito D Campos, Jr said on Wednesday.
