The frozen foods manufacturer also declined to commit to a full-year dividend, as the board waits to review the full financial impact of its product recall in February.
A string of cases of hepatitis A emerged in New South Wales and Victoria, sparking the recall as health officials blaming Nanna’s brand 1kg mixed berries, which Patties manufactures. The company reportedly sourced its combination of strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries from China.
Shares in Patties, the largest importer and packer of frozen fruit in Australia, plunged after the February recall, dropping 8 per cent in one day.
Patties said today the frozen berry recall is expected to have cost the company $1.5 million in forgone earnings, which the company will book in its full-year results.
Patties Foods expects to report an underlying net profit after tax of around $15m, which would be a 10 per cent decline compared to the group's 2014 financial year result of $16.7m.
The company also expects the group's headline net profit after tax to feel the impact of the frozen berry recall, which Patties said was "potentially material significant, but primarily non-cash", likely to result from an inventory valuation.
