Calling 2021 a “transformational” year, Dublin-based Dole Plc reported its first quarterly and full-year results for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31 after its merger with Total Produce Plc last year.
Dole Plc was created when Total Produce Plc completed the acquisition of the remaining 55% of Dole Food Co. on July 29 last year, following a 45% purchase of Dole holdings in 2018.
Following this acquisition, the combined company has increased significantly in scale and geographical footprint, according to a news release, with revenue increasing 48.5% to $6.5 billion for the full year of 2021 compared to 2020.
Dole Plc has more than 114,000 acres of owned land and other land holdings, over 160 distribution and manufacturing facilities, 75 packing houses, 12 cold-storage facilities, five salad manufacturing plants and 13 owned vessels, according to the release.
Dole Plc Executive Chairman Carl McCann said in the release that the company is “well-positioned to deliver long-term sustainable growth.”
“Our diversified business model has continued to provide resilience within a challenging macroeconomic environment, while our strategic asset base and multicontinental sourcing model provide a competitive advantage,” he said in the release. “For the 2022 financial year, we are targeting revenue in the range of $9.6 billion to $9.9 billion and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $370 million to $380 million. The year-on-year expected reduction in adjusted [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] is primarily due to the significant impact of the value-added salads product recall and temporary plant closures. We are monitoring the ongoing geopolitical situation in Ukraine and Russia; however, it is difficult to predict today what impact this may have on the macroeconomic environment and our business.”
In the fresh fruit business segment, the release said the company’s pro-forma revenue for the full year of 2021 increased 2.9%, thanks to higher banana pricing in North America and higher pineapple pricing in the key North American and European markets, in addition to strong performance from the commercial cargo business throughout the year.
For vegetables, the release said Dole Plc pro-forma revenue for the full year of 2021 increased 1% because of higher pricing in value-added salads, partially offset by lower volumes as a consequence of the value-added salads product recall and temporary plant closures, as well as lower pricing and volumes in fresh-packed vegetables.
