Chiquita Earnings Beat Wall Street Targets

P/>Shares of Chiquita Brands(CQB Quote) jumped 8% in after-hours trading Thursday after the company released first-quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street's targets.

Though the effects of a stronger dollar hurt revenue, which declined 10% from a year ago, the company said it earned $23 million, or 51 cents a share, far surpassing analysts' estimates of 28 cents a share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

A year ago, Chiquita said its earnings on a comparable basis were $22 million, or 49 cents a share. Revenue in the just-ended quarter was $842 million, down from $935 million a year ago.

The Cincinnati company attributed the stronger-than-expected earnings to wider margins in its prepared-salads business and strong banana sales.

Shares of Chiquita changed hands in after-market action at $8.21, up 64 cents, or 8.45%.