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WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- Dole Food Co., the world's biggest seller of fresh fruit, said it had a fourth-quarter loss because of the euro and yen's decline against the dollar and higher fuel costs. Dole Food loses
$7.4 million in quarterBloomberg News
Dole's loss from continuing operations was $7.4 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with year-earlier net income of $2.1 million, or 4 cents, the company said in a statement.
The 6.3 percent decline in the euro last year and the yen's drop during reduced the revenue Dole received when sales of bananas and other fruits sold in those countries were converted into dollars.
Revenue fell 1.7 percent to $1.06 billion from $1.08 billion.
The company said it expects results to improve this year because of cost cutting.
In the latest quarter, Dole said it had a pretax gain of $436,000 on the sale of some citrus assets, a gain from insurance claims related to Hurricane Mitch and charges for cutting jobs.
Dole said its final loss was was $6.52 million, or 12 cents a share.
Dole spokesmen weren't immediately available for comment.
Dole, founded in Hawaii in the mid-1800s, has since relocated to Westlake Village, Calif., but remains a major landholder in the islands.