Del Monte’s profit, forecast disappoint

Del Monte Foods Co. posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its full-year earnings forecast because of soaring costs for ingredients such as wheat, corn and fish.

The news sent the San Francisco company’s stock down more than 6%.

The maker of Del Monte canned vegetables, Meow Mix cat food and StarKist tuna said profit was $25.9 million, or 13 cents a share, in its fiscal second quarter ended Oct. 28, compared with $23.2 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier.

Excluding restructuring costs, earnings were 14 cents a share, short of the average analyst estimate of 17 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Sales rose 5% to $938.1 million in the quarter.

Like all food companies, Del Monte has been hit by rising commodity costs and has tried to offset those costs with price increases and cost-cutting.

Del Monte now expects earnings of 64 to 68 cents a share for the year, down from its previous forecast of 70 to 74 cents.

Its shares fell 73 cents to $8.99.