Dole Posts Higher Earnings Amid Restructuring

Dole Food Co., producer and marketer of fresh and frozen foods, reported higher fourth-quarter earnings before accounting for the restructuring of its dried-fruit and nut business.

After separating its real estate and resorts business from its food operation in late 1995, Thousand Oaks-based Dole has focused on restructuring, company officials said.

The changes will “allow a substantial reduction in the company’s working capital requirements,” David H. Murdock, chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “This initiative is in line with our plan to dispose of or liquidate assets which do not meet our minimum return-on-investment requirements.”

The results for 1996 reflect a fourth-quarter nonrecurring pretax charge of $50 million related to the restructuring.

Dole earned $13.5 million in the fourth quarter, or 22 cents a share, before the nonrecurring charge, compared with income of $6.1 million, or 10 cents a share, for the fourth quarter of 1995.

Taking the charge into account, Dole lost $27.5 million, or 46 cents a share, in the quarter.

Full-year income for 1996 was $130 million, or $2.15 a share, before the nonrecurring charge, and $89 million or $1.47 a share after accounting for the charge. In 1995, Dole earned $87.7 million, or $1.47 a share.