SINGAPORE - Canned food specialist Del Monte Pacific continues to bleed from a United States acquisition as it reported a net loss of US$21.9 million for its first quarter ended Jul 31.

The company continued to sink in the red, reversing from a US$4.15 million gain made in the same period a year ago.

Del Monte said in a statement on Friday that the net loss was mainly due to "acquisition-related expenses."

But the firm seems to have stemmed much of the haemorrhage from February's US$1.7 billion purchase of the consumer food business of US firm Del Monte Foods Consumer Products.

The latest quarterly loss was an improvement from the US$42.8 million net loss seen in the transitional three months ended April 30.

Sales for the first quarter jumped nearly four-fold to US$445.6 million from US$119.4 million.

Much of the increase was due to contributions from Del Monte Foods.

It is embarking on cost saving measures, including outsourcing Del Monte Foods' back office functions to the Philippines.

Del Monte Pacific is listed on both the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Its shares fell half a cent to 52.5 cents on the SGX as at 12.22pm. The company reported its earnings before markets opened.