Dole to Attribute 4th-Quarter Loss to Hurricane
Dole Food Co., whose Honduras banana and pineapple plantations were devastated by Hurricane Mitch, says it will report a fourth-quarter loss and take a $100-million charge for damage from the storm.
The Westlake Village produce grower said the charge was larger than expected and that the storm ravaged more than 30,000 acres of crops.
Dole said its fourth-quarter earnings before the charge also will be hurt by the costs and work interruptions caused by Hurricane Mitch and that it estimates a fourth-quarter operating loss of $3 million to $6 million, which equals a loss of 5 to 10 cents per share.
The charge covers the asset loss from the destruction, rehabilitation costs and relief efforts. Dole said it anticipates rehabilitating most of the destroyed plantations over the next two years.
Experts have said that Honduras and Nicaragua will take a generation to recover from Mitch’s devastation.
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