Shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. were indicated up about 4% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the fresh fruit and vegetables producer reported a first-quarter profit that more than tripled from a year ago, even as sales slipped given continued COVID-19 restrictions on foodservice customers and given hurricane-related supply disruptions. Net income rose to $42.7 million, or 90 cents a share, from $13.0 million, or 27 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 88 cents, while the average EPS estimate of two analysts surveyed by FactSet was 36 cents. Sales declined 2.7% to $1.09 billion, while the average sales estimate of two analysts was $1.11 billion, as fresh and value-added products sales fell 4.5% to $631.0 million and banana sales declined 2.1% to $418.2 million. The stock has run up 19.9% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 10.9%.
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