Acquisition Expected to be Accretive to Earnings in Fiscal Year 2014
Expected to Add Approximately 200,000 Cartons of Lemons in Fiscal
Year 2014
SANTA PAULA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Limoneira Company (NASDAQ: LMNR), a leading agribusiness with prime
agricultural land and operations, real estate and water rights in
California and Arizona, announced today that it has completed the
acquisition of approximately 760 acres of agricultural property in the
town of Porterville in Tulare county, California for $8.75 million cash.
This property consists of approximately 400 acres of productive lemon
orchards and 360 acres primarily utilized for cattle grazing. The
acquisition includes water assets and agricultural equipment and
supplies. The addition of this property brings Limoneira's owned and
leased lemon holdings to over 1,000 acres in the San Joaquin Valley,
total lemon acreage to approximately 3,400 acres in California and
Arizona and over 10,000 acres of owned, leased or managed property in
the two states.
The acquired lemon orchards are typically harvested and sold from
November through March. Limoneira expects production of approximately
200,000 cartons of lemons for fiscal year 2014 and expects to produce in
excess of 100,000 additional cartons of lemons in future years after
certain orchard redevelopment on the property. Limoneira expects to
achieve annual production of approximately 300,000 to 350,000 cartons
subsequent to orchard redevelopment.
The acquisition is expected to generate additional agribusiness
operating profit for Limoneira during the first and second quarters of
fiscal year 2014 and be accretive to fiscal 2014 results.
Alex Teague, Senior Vice President of Limoneira, said, "The high quality
lemons that this orchard adds to our supply chain enables us to offer
our domestic and international customers a year round supply which is
vital in today's marketplace. This fruit expands our produce offering
for the important December through March season, improving our top and
bottom line during our first and second fiscal quarters."
Harold Edwards, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer,
added, "We are quickly becoming a worldwide leader in providing fresh
lemons and other citrus to our customers. This acquisition is consistent
with Limoneira's long-term growth strategy to expand our portfolio of
quality citrus acreage. We continue to see a strong pipeline of
additional acquisition opportunities and look forward to utilizing our
strong balance sheet to further expand our business through acquisitions
as well as organic growth in coming years. We expect this acquisition to
be accretive to our earnings in fiscal 2014."
About Limoneira Company
Limoneira Company, a 120-year-old international agribusiness
headquartered in Santa Paula, California, has grown to become one of the
premier integrated agribusinesses in the world. Limoneira (pronounced lē
mon΄âra) is a dedicated sustainability company with approximately 10,000
acres of rich agricultural lands, real estate properties and water
rights in California and Arizona. The Company is a leading producer of
lemons, avocados, oranges, specialty citrus and other crops that are
enjoyed throughout the world. For more about Limoneira Company, visit www.limoneira.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These
forward-looking statements are based on Limoneira's current expectations
about future events and can be identified by terms such as "expect,"
"may," "anticipate," "intend," "should be," "will be," "is likely to,"
"strive to," and similar expressions referring to future periods.
Limoneira believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking
statements are reasonable but cannot guarantee future results, level of
activity, performance or achievements. Actual results may differ
materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking
statements. Therefore, Limoneira cautions you against relying on any of
these forward-looking statements. Factors which may cause future
outcomes to differ materially from those foreseen in forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to: changes in laws,
regulations, rules, quotas, tariffs and import laws; weather conditions
that affect production, transportation, storage, import and export of
fresh product; increased pressure from crop disease, insects and other
pests; disruption of water supplies or changes in water allocations;
pricing and supply of raw materials and products; market responses to
industry volume pressures; pricing and supply of energy; changes in
interest and currency exchange rates; availability of financing for land
development activities; political changes and economic crises;
international conflict; acts of terrorism; labor disruptions, strikes or
work stoppages; loss of important intellectual property rights;
inability to pay debt obligations; inability to engage in certain
transactions due to restrictive covenants in debt instruments;
government restrictions on land use; and market and pricing risks due to
concentrated ownership of stock. Other risks and uncertainties include
those that are described in Limoneira's SEC filings, which are available
on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.
Limoneira undertakes no obligation to subsequently update or revise the
forward-looking statements made in this press release, except as
required by law.
Investor Contact:
ICR
John Mills, 310-954-1105
Senior
Managing Director
or
Media Contact:
ICR
Cory
Ziskind, 646-277-1232
Vice President
Source: Limoneira Company
News Provided by Acquire Media
