Israeli food and beverage maker Strauss Group (STRS.TA) reported a 34 percent fall in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday, hurt by a decline in sales and one-time factors, Reuters reported.
Strauss, the world's sixth-largest coffee firm, posted second-quarter net income of 37 million shekels ($10 million), or 0.35 shekel per share, compared with an average estimate of 63 million shekels in a Reuters poll of four analysts and 55.9 million, or 0.53 a share, a year earlier.
Sales dipped 1.2 percent to 1.51 billion shekels, compared with an average estimate of 1.5 billion in a Reuters poll of four analysts.
The company said overall sales were impacted by the Passover holiday in Israel, where sales slipped 2.9 percent to 764 million shekels. The majority of Passover sales this year took place in the first quarter as opposed to the second quarter in 2008, it said.
Excluding one-time factors, including a 22 million shekel expense impairment in goodwill related to its operations in Serbia, net income was down 16 percent to 55 million shekels.
In the year-earlier period, Strauss booked a one-time gain of 27 million shekels that was mainly related to the start of the partnership of its Sabra Salads unit with PepsiCo.
Global coffee sales edged down 0.8 percent to 811 million shekels but grew by 5.8 percent excluding the negative exchange rate effects. ($1 = 3.79 shekels)