Dole plc (NYSE:DOLE) shares gained more than 11% since the company’s reported Q3 results on Thursday, with EPS of $0.14 coming in better than the Street estimate of $0.10. Revenue was $2.27 billion, in line with the Street expectations.
Investor consternation regarding a more substantial cut to guidance was assuaged. The company does now anticipate EBITDA finishing toward the lower end of its prior $330-$350 million EBITDA range, but strength in Fresh Fruit helped mitigate the weakness attributed to sustained softness in salads, one-time logistical bottlenecks in Chilean grapes in Q3 and adverse MTM impacts from FX.
Furthermore, the company noted it is positioned well to implement cost-justified price increases in the contracted Fresh Fruit business, which should help support EBITDA growth into 2023.
Fiscal 2022 revenue is expected to be in the range of $9.1-9.4 billion, compared to the Street estimate of $9.17 billion.