More than bananas

Chiquita recently reported a restructuring of their operations, and the The Packer's David Mitchell wrote this about their moves:

As part of a restructuring initiative announced Oct. 29, Cincinnati-based Chiquita Brands International Inc. said its plans to axe the line of fruit bowls it introduced in 2003 and instead will focus its fresh-cut efforts on value-added salads and snack packs.“Over the last year or so, we introduced new products, like Chiquita Apple Bites, as healthy snacks,” said Chiquita spokesman Mike Mitchell. “Those have been much (more well) received by consumers and customers.”In addition to its Apple Bites, Chiquita introduced single-serving bags of grapes, carrots and snap peas this summer in test markets.Mitchell said Chiquita plans to honor its fruit bowl commitments to customers but will convert fresh-cut plants in Edgington, Ill., and Salinas, Calif., from fruit bowl production to snack pack and bagged salad production in the next few months.

TK; In other news, Fresh Del Monte today issued a fresh report about their third quarter performance.

From their release:

For the third quarter of 2007, Fresh Del Monte reported net income of $29.9 million, compared with a net loss of $82.9 million for the comparable prior year period. Net income for the first nine months was $145.4 million, compared with a net loss of $83.4 million during the same period in 2006. The significant increase in net income for the first nine months of the year was due to continued andd sstained improvements throughout the Company’s operations. “It is gratifying to see the actions we took in 2006 to drive global improvements have had a very favorable impact across all of our business segments,” said Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, Fresh Del Monte’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our team did an exceptional job in terms of focusing our sales and marketing efforts and increasing efficiencies, and these efforts have resulted in one of the best third quarters in our history, during what is traditionally our most challenging three-month period.” Abu-Ghazaleh added, “We continue to face challenges in our industry and our business related to the high cost of fuel, raw materials and transportation. As always, we will remain sharply focused for the balance of 2007 to manage those challenges and drive performance.”

TK: One of the things that stood out to me on the Del Monte's third quarter balance sheet is the fact that bananas accounted for 37% of sales but just 10.1% of profits for the third quarter. In contrast, "other fresh produce" accounted for 45% of third quarter sales and 69% of profits. Wall Street has wanted banana companies to diversify and both Fresh Del Monte and Chiquita are doing exactly that.