Dole Posts $27.5-Million Loss During 4th Quarter

Dole Food Co., a Westlake Village producer and marketer of fruits and vegetables, said its loss in the fourth quarter that ended in December was $27.5 million, compared to a profit of $11.8 million in the fourth quarter of 1995.

Revenue in the fourth quarter was $891 million, up 6% from $837 million the year before.

For all of 1996, the company posted a profit of $89 million, more than triple the 1995 profit of $23 million, which also reflected extraordinary charges.

Revenue for 1996 was $3.84 billion, about even with 1995 revenue of $3.8 billion.

The company said a nonrecurring $50-million charge triggered the fourth-quarter loss. The charge was related to the restructuring of the company’s dried fruit and nut business, which had been posting losses.