Shares of Chiquita Brands International Inc. rose Wednesday after the produce company said its fourth-quarter loss narrowed.
The bananas, pineapples and bagged salads supplier said late Tuesday that its loss in the October-December quarter narrowed from the same period in 2010. When excluding special items such as the cost of laying off employees as part of its headquarters move to Cincinnati from Charlotte, N.C., Chiquita said it lost 12 cents per share.
Analysts expected a deeper loss of 17 cents per share, according to research company FactSet.
Revenue fell 7 percent to $722 million, however, below analysts' prediction of $758.5 million.
The company also promoted the president of its Europe and Middle East division, Brian Kocher, to chief financial officer following the resignation of CFO Michael Sims.
THE ANALYSIS: Janney Capital Markets analyst Jonathan Feeney said banana prices may be improving, which would help the company's profit. Flat banana sales and lower prices in Europe hurt the fourth-quarter results. Feeney kept his "Buy" rating on Chiquita's stock.
SHARE ACTION: Shares rose 83 cents, or 9 percent, to $10.06 in afternoon trading. Shares had risen about 23 percent since hitting a 52-week low of $7.53 on Nov. 29.