Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. reported Wednesday first-quarter profit that fell, but beat expectations, while revenue rose primarily due to “favorable pricing.” The fresh fruit seller’s stock was still inactive in premarket trading. Net income declined to $25.8 million, or 54 cents a share, from $42.7 million, or 90 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 55 cents. The average EPS estimate of two analysts surveyed by FactSet was 46 cents. Sales grew 4.5% to $1.14 billion, above the FactSet average of $1.12 billion, as fresh and value-added products sales rose 6.6% to $672.7 million and banana sales fell 2.9% to $406.0 million. The company said “inflation-justified pricing actions” implemented in the fourth quarter helped offset the negative effect of currency fluctuations. Cost of products growth outpaced that of sales, rising 6.7% to $1.05 billion, reducing gross margin to 7.9% from 9.7%. The stock has slipped 7.7% year to date while the S&P 500 has dropped 12.4%.
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