Dole earnings fall 21%
The company said its strategic review of its business, which was launched in May, is continuing and remains a company priority. Dole said it is considering a full or partial separation of one or more of its businesses, including potential spin-offs, joint ventures and sales transactions.
Dole reported profit from continuing operations of $65.5 million, or 74 cents a share, down from $82.7 million, or 94 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding restructuring costs, stock-based compensation and other items, per-share earnings slid to 80 cents from $1.01. Revenue dropped 10% to $1.72 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 72 cents a share in earnings and $1.82 billion in revenue.
Fresh-fruit sales--the company's biggest top-line contributor-fell 18% due in part to lower prices for bananas sold in North America. Sales of fresh vegetables were up 11%, while packaged-foods sales increased 7%.
Shares closed Thursday at $8.83 and were inactive after hours. The stock is up 2.1% so far this year.
Source: online.wsj.com
