Dole (DOLE) indefinitely suspended a previously announced $200 million share buyback program on Tuesday in an effort to stem losses from its volatile strawberry business and revamp its fleet of container ships.
The Westlake Village, Calif.-based food giant will use the repurchase program’s existing funding to buy three new specialty-built refrigerated container ships for $165 million in an effort to take advantage of an "opportune window in the shipping industry."
The strategic move will replace a 27-year-old fleet, bringing on instead new ships at the most cost-effective time that are more fuel efficient and built to Dole’s “exacting specifications and design.”
“Updating our West Coast shipping capabilities is very important strategically to the company’s competitive differentiation and future growth prospects,” Dole Chief Operating Officer C. Michael Carter said in a statement.
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