Canned fruit producer Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) said Wednesday it would likely register a net loss for the fiscal year 2025 as the initiatives being undertaken to improve operations would start to be felt by 2026.
DMPL said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it expects net loss for the fiscal year 2025 to be lower than the $127.3-million net loss registered in fiscal year 2024.
The company said the group’s main priorities would include the planned sale of assets in the United States and injection of equity in the group through strategic partnerships. It will use the proceeds from the fund-raising activity to improve financial ratios.
DMPL said it would also actively restore gross margins by achieving a 30-percent reduction in inventory levels through a production cutback during the current pack season, consolidation of manufacturing footprint, reduction of warehousing and distribution costs and reduction of waste and inventory write offs.
“The group continues to relentlessly pursue all these initiatives in FY2025 but the anticipated positive financial impact will only be fully reflected inFY2026,” DMPL said.
“Under current conditions, and barring unforeseen circumstances, the group expects to incur a net loss in FY2025 although at a reduced amount compared to FY2024,” it said.
DMPL said it would support the resurgence of domestic and international sales of Del Monte Philippines Inc. (DMPI) which is expected to do better in FY 2025 versus the prior year.
It said that in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 covering the period May to July, DMPL reported a net loss of $34.2 million, higher versus prior year’s net loss of $13.1 million, largely driven by unfavorable results from US-based unit Del Monte Foods Inc. and increased interest expenses.
Sales, however, grew 4 percent to $537 million as Philippine subsidiary DMPI achieved a 13-percent increase in sales to $77.2 million.
“We are executing the priorities we have set to improve our operating and financial performance across all businesses. This is most evident in Del Monte Philippines where profitability has significantly increased,” DMPL chief operating officer Luis Alejandro said.
“We are optimistic that the group’s performance will continue to improve, paring losses on track for a Group turnaround in FY2026, with DMPI leading the way as it bounces back in FY2025,” he said.
