Chiquita Brands Posts Large Earnings Miss (CQB)

Chiquita Brands International Inc. (CQB) reports Q3 earnings loss of $0.14 versus consensus of $0.32. Chiquita Brands International Inc. reports revenues of $730 million versus consensus of $784.67 million. Revenues decreased 8% year over year. The company continues to expect to deliver its third consecutive year of profitability for full-year 2010, with a full-year comparable income target of $50 to $60 million, despite the weak economic environment and industry challenges in Europe. For the full-year 2010, the company expects revenues to be lower by approximately 5 percent. "While our third quarter results are mostly in line with our expectations, we are disappointed by recent trends in local European pricing," said Fernando Aguirre, chairman and chief executive officer. "Although we continue to make progress in executing our business improvement plans in Europe and realized better local pricing year-on-year, market pricing began to soften late in the quarter due to excessive imports from EU and ACP sources. In the salads business, volumes were lower than we expected, reflecting retailers' conversion to private label and generally soft category demand." Shares of CQB are lower in the after-hours by 6.45%.