Del Monte Pacific Limited (DMPL)  reported that its net income fell 64 percent to $28.8 million in the first nine months of its fiscal year ending in April 2023 from $80.1 million in the same period last year. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said the drop in earnings is due to one-off costs of $53.9 million (post tax and non-controlling interest), of which $50.7 million was booked in the first quarter as subsidiary Del Monte Foods Inc. (DMFI) refinanced its loan with a long-term credit facility that has lower interest rates. Without these one-off costs, core DMPL EBITDA and net income would have been higher by 3 percent to $280.2 million and $82.7 million, respectively. DMFI, on the other hand, achieved higher EBITDA and net profit (before one-off costs) of $174.9 million and $55.4 million, up 12 percent and 57 percent, respectively. DMPL grew sales by 4 percent to $1.8 billion on higher USA and international sales, and gross margin remained almost at par at 26.6 percent from 26.8 percent. Gross profit was up 3 percent to $489.2 million while EBITDA was stable at $274.7 million. “Notwithstanding inflationary pressures, our largest business, Del Monte Foods in USA, delivered growth in sales and operating profit as it remained focused on building its brands and expanding its distribution footprint,” said DMPL Managing Director and CEO Joselito Campos, Jr. He added that, “We will continue to leverage the growth of International market led by S&W while maximizing fresh sales in China with the environment normalizing. In the Philippine market, we will further accelerate volume and pursue our cost reduction and productivity efforts in the face of peso depreciation.” For its third quarter ending in January 2023, DMPL generated sales of $681.2 million, up 3 percent with better sales in USA and international markets. Philippines sales were higher in peso terms but lower in US dollar terms. The Group’s US subsidiary DMFI achieved sales of $495.7 million or 73 percent of Group turnover. DMFI’s sales increased by 6 percent on higher branded retail sales of canned vegetable, fruit and tomato. This includes incremental sales of $14.3 million contributed by the recently-acquired Kitchen Basics stock and broth business. Excluding this acquisition, DMFI’s sales were up 3 percent. DMPL’s Philippine market delivered sales of $109.8 million, 6 percent higher in peso terms but 6 percent lower in US dollar terms due to the peso depreciation. Higher sales of beverage, culinary and innovation categories offset the decline in packaged tropical fruit. Foodservice sales increased by 16 percent behind the accelerating business of quick service restaurants (QSR), while convenience store sales jumped 68 percent. Innovations especially dairy and snacking are gaining traction, now accounting for 7 percent of Philippine sales. International markets, composed of fresh produce and packaged goods, generated higher sales of $80.8 million, up 19 percent, driven by strong performance of packaged pineapple, mixed fruit and juice drink exports to USA and Europe. Higher volume and better pricing led to the robust sales growth of 53 percent for packaged products. However, sales of fresh pineapple were lower by 8 percent, driven by China due to reduced volume from extended lockdowns and inflation. As a result of lower gross profit and increased interest expense, DMPL reported a net profit of $9.8 million versus prior year quarter’s $25.9 million.