- Expected to be Accretive in Fiscal 2018 and Generate Earnings Per
Share of $0.06-$0.08 in Fiscal 2019 -
- Immediately Expands Chilean Lemon and Orange Acreage Holdings by
150% -
- Valuable Location Adjacent to Company’s Pan de Azucar Ranch and
Rosales Packing House Assets -
SANTA PAULA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 20, 2018--
Limoneira Company (the “Company” or “Limoneira”) (Nasdaq: LMNR), a
diversified citrus packing, sales and marketing company with related
agribusiness activities and real estate development operations,
announced today that it has entered into an agreement in the form of a
binding memorandum of understanding to acquire a ranch and related
assets of Fruticola San Pablo S.A (“San Pablo”) in La Serena, Chile for
$13 million subject to satisfactory due diligence to be further
conducted by the Company.
The San Pablo ranch consists of 3,317 total acres on two parcels,
including 247 acres producing lemons, 61 acres producing oranges, the
opportunity to immediately plant 120 acres for lemon production, as well
as the potential for approximately 500 acres of avocado production.
San Pablo’s results of operations will be included in Limoneira’s
consolidated results of operations from the date of closing. Limoneira
expects to invest an additional $2.8 million in fiscal 2018 and 2019 for
new citrus plantings and enhanced water infrastructure to expand citrus
production to 650,000 cartons of lemons and 85,000 cartons of oranges
annually upon maturity of the ranch at peak production.
San Pablo’s proximity to Limoneira’s existing Pan de Azucar (PDA) ranch
in a coastal region near La Serena, Chile, is advantageous given PDA’s
ownership in the Rosales packing business. By adding San Pablo to the
PDA assets and Rosales packing business, the Company will improve
efficiencies and overall Chilean margins. Rosales will pack and sell all
of the Company’s citrus production in the region under Limoneira’s One
World of Citrus™ marketing team.
Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "The
addition of the San Pablo ranch to our growing global presence is
consistent with our long-term strategy to dramatically expand our
agribusiness internationally as a global, year round supplier of citrus.
We have a very strong pipeline of potential acquisitions around the
world, including the United States, and believe we are very well
positioned to capitalize on this tremendous long-term growth
opportunity.”
Alex Teague, Senior Vice President, commented, “This acquisition enables
us to utilize our existing packing operation in Chile to improve margins
for San Pablo’s current and future production. In addition, we will
immediately begin planting additional acreage for increased lemon
production. We have known the management team at San Pablo for many
years and are very excited to leverage our current assets to expand
production and distribution within Chile and throughout the world.”
The San Pablo acquisition is expected to close in July 2018. The Company
expects the acquisition to add $0.02 - $0.03 in earnings per diluted
share in fiscal 2018, and $0.06 - $0.08 in fiscal 2019.
About Limoneira Company
Limoneira Company, a 125-year-old international agribusiness
headquartered in Santa Paula, California, has grown to become one of the
premier integrated agribusinesses in the world. Limoneira (pronounced lç
mon´âra) is a dedicated sustainability company with 11,200 acres of rich
agricultural lands, real estate properties, and water rights
in California, Arizona and Chile. 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.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180620006223/en/
Source: Limoneira Company
Investor Contact:
ICR
John Mills
Partner
646-277-1254
