Fresh Del Monte Produce experienced a downturn in its stock due to lower-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The primary reason for this was a decrease in banana sales, which was partially offset by robust pineapple sales and increased avocado prices.

Following a review of its North American operations, including Mann Packing, the company reported a $131.2 million impairment charge. Despite this, Fresh Del Monte raised its quarterly dividend by 25%.

The company’s stock (FDP, +1.55%) fell by 1.3% in premarket trading on Monday 26 of February. A shift from a net income of $18.3 million, or 38 cents a share, in the same period a year ago to a net loss of $106.4 million, or $2.22 a share, was observed. When excluding nonrecurring items like the impairment charge, the adjusted earnings per share of 25 cents fell short of the average estimate of 31 cents by two analysts compiled by FactSet.

Sales decreased by 3% to $1.01 billion, falling below the FactSet average estimate of $1.03 billion. Banana sales specifically dropped by 6% to $379.6 million due to lower sales volumes and per-unit selling prices in North America.

On the other hand, sales of fresh and value-added products slightly increased by 1% to $582.8 million. This was driven by strong pineapple sales and higher prices for avocados and non-tropical fruit, which balanced out lower prices for vegetables and prepared foods.

The company increased its quarterly dividend from 20 cents a share to 25 cents a share. Based on the stock’s closing price of $23.92 on Friday, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 4.18%, which is nearly triple the implied yield for the S&P 500 index (SPX) of 1.41%.

Year to date, the stock has lost 8.9%, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.