Segment Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Information

Segment Information

The company reports the following three business segments:

• Bananas: Includes the sourcing (purchase and production), transportation, marketing and distribution of bananas.

• Salads and Healthy Snacks: Includes ready-to-eat, packaged salads, referred to in the industry as “value-added salads” and other value-added products, such as healthy snacking items, fresh vegetable and fruit ingredients used in food service; processed fruit ingredients; and the company’s equity-method investment in Danone Chiquita Fruits, which sells Chiquita-branded fruit smoothies in Europe (see Note 2).

• Other Produce: Includes the sourcing, marketing and distribution of whole fresh fruits and vegetables other than bananas.

Certain corporate expenses are not allocated to the reportable segments and are included in “Corporate costs” or “Relocation costs.” Inter-segment transactions are eliminated. Segment information represents only continuing operations. See Note 20 for information related to discontinued operations.

Financial information for each segment follows:

(In thousands)	Bananas		Salads and Healthy Snacks			Other Produce			Corporate Costs			Consolidated
2011
Net sales	$	2,022,969	$	953,464		$	162,863		$	—		$	3,139,296
Segment results1,2	127,175		7,035			(36,757		)	(63,713		)	33,740
Depreciation and amortization	18,850		36,835			480			4,762			60,927
Equity in (losses) earnings of investees3	350		(6,664		)	—			—			(6,314		)
Total assets	1,122,537		714,129			38,160			63,133			1,937,959
Expenditures for long-lived assets	36,124		33,421			225			5,765			75,535
Net operating assets (liabilities)	746,792		585,961			28,992			(34,457		)	1,327,288
2010
Net sales	$	1,937,748	$	1,028,475		$	261,209		$	—		$	3,227,432
Segment results4	80,591		95,268			5,363			(70,426		)	110,796
Depreciation and amortization	18,568		39,803			175			2,470			61,016
Equity in (losses) earnings of investees5	1,472		(4,837		)	440			—			(2,925		)
Total assets	1,100,391		702,639			105,303			158,813			2,067,146
Expenditures for long-lived assets	29,828		28,429			36			7,249			65,542
Net operating assets (liabilities)	639,212		570,917			72,689			(65,169		)	1,217,649
2009
Net sales	$	2,081,510	$	1,135,504		$	253,421		$	—		$	3,470,435
Segment results2	174,416		60,377			5,640			(93,124		)	147,309
Depreciation and amortization	21,343		40,499			93			1,054			62,989
Equity in earnings of investees3	15,009		—			1,876			—			16,885
Total assets5	1,139,561		686,652			124,714			93,899			2,044,826
Expenditures for long-lived assets	31,824		29,115			642			7,924			69,505
Net operating assets (liabilities)4	609,670		560,517			99,747			(74,931		)	1,195,003

¹  Bananas segment includes $4 million of accelerated ship rental expense net of sublease income due to reconfiguration of our ocean shipping system as described in Note 13 and Other Produce segment includes a reserve of $32 million for grower advances as described in Note 4.

²  Corporate cost include $6 million in 2011 related to the relocation of the corporate headquarters and $12 million in 2009 related to the relocation of the European headquarters. See Note 3.

³  See Notes 3 and 7 for further information related to investments in and income from equity method investments.

⁴  Salads and Healthy Snacks segment includes a $32 million gain on the deconsolidation of the European smoothie business as described in Note 20.

⁵  Reclassifications were made for comparative purposes.

The reconciliation of segment results to “Operating income (loss)” is as follows:

(In thousands)	2011		2010			2009
Segment results	$	33,740	$	110,796		$	147,309
Other income attributed to Other Produce	—		(2,525		)	—
Other income attributed to Corporate	—		(611		)	—
Operating income (loss)	$	33,740	$	107,660		$	147,309

The reconciliation of Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow captions to expenditures for long-lived assets is as follows:

(In thousands)	2011		2010		2009
Per Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow:
Capital expenditures	$	75,535	$	65,542	$	68,305
Acquisition of businesses and resolution of contingent purchase price	—		—		1,200
Expenditures for long-lived assets	$	75,535	$	65,542	$	69,505

The reconciliation of the Consolidated Balance Sheets’ total assets to net operating assets follows:

	December 31,
(In thousands)	2011		2010
Total assets	$	1,937,959	$	2,067,146
Less:
Cash	45,261		156,481
Accounts payable	251,572		264,292
Accrued liabilities	114,979		127,466
Accrued pension and other employee benefits	76,903		73,797
Deferred tax liability	43,248		115,825
Deferred gain – sale of shipping fleet	34,553		48,684
Other liabilities	44,155		62,952
Net operating assets	$	1,327,288	$	1,217,649

Financial information by geographic area is as follows:

(In thousands)	2011		2010		2009
Net sales:
United States	$	1,793,580	$	1,895,207	$	1,943,963
Italy	229,138		206,767		235,665
Germany	199,084		198,665		212,511
Other Core Europe	597,343		606,522		689,157
Total Core Europe1	1,025,565		1,011,954		1,137,333
Other international	320,151		320,271		389,139
Foreign net sales	1,345,716		1,332,225		1,526,472
Total net sales	$	3,139,296	$	3,227,432	$	3,470,435

¹  Core Europe includes the 27 member states of the European Union, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

Property, plant and equipment by geographic area:

	December 31,
(In thousands)	2011		2010
Property, plant and equipment, net:
United States	$	202,713	$	200,086
Central and South America	133,072		122,264
Other international	33,902		27,300
	$	369,687	$	349,650

The company’s products are sold throughout the world and its principal production and processing operations are conducted in the United States, Central America and South America. Chiquita’s earnings are heavily dependent upon products grown and purchased in Central and South America. These activities are a significant factor in the economies of the countries where Chiquita produces bananas and related products, and are subject to the risks that are inherent in operating in such foreign countries, including government regulation, currency restrictions, fluctuations and other restraints, import and export restrictions, burdensome taxes, risks of expropriation, threats to employees, political instability, terrorist activities, including extortion, and risks of U.S. and foreign governmental action in relation to the company. Certain of these operations are substantially dependent upon leases and other agreements with these governments.

The company is also subject to a variety of government regulations in most countries where it markets bananas and other fresh products, including health, food safety and customs requirements, import tariffs, currency exchange controls and taxes.