-Company Expects to Achieve Record Revenue and Net Income and
Earning Per Diluted Share in FY 2018-
-Company Expects to Generate Fiscal Year 2019 Earnings Per Diluted
Share to be in the Range $0.75 to $0.85which represents growth
of approximately 45% to 65%-
-The Board of Directors Increases Quarterly Dividend 20% to $0.075
per share-
-Announces Date of Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2018 Earnings Conference
Call-
SANTA PAULA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 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, today
announced a business and guidance update for its fiscal year ending
October 31, 2018 and provided initial earnings per diluted share
guidance for its fiscal year ending October 31, 2019. In addition, on
December 18, 2018, the Board of Directors increased its quarterly cash
dividend by 20% to $0.075 per common share payable on January 15, 2019,
to stockholders of record on December 31, 2018.
Fiscal Year 2018 Business Update and Initial Fiscal Year 2019 Guidance
Persistent rains in the Arizona desert during the Company’s fourth
quarter of fiscal year 2018 delayed timing of the D3 zone or desert zone
lemon harvest into the first quarter of fiscal year 2019. In addition,
the wine grape harvest yields were lower than expected in the fourth
quarter of fiscal year 2018. Based on these events, the Company is
updating its fiscal year 2018 guidance and providing initial fiscal year
2019 earnings per diluted share guidance to account for these events as
well as recent acquisitions and expected organic growth in fiscal year
2019. Fiscal year 2018 guidance is based on preliminary results and
subject to completion of audit procedures.
For fiscal year 2018, the Company expects revenue to increase
approximately 7% to $129 million and GAAP earnings per diluted share to
be in the range of $1.24 to $1.26. GAAP earnings include the following
non-recurring items in fiscal 2018:
-
Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the Company recognized a
non-cash $10.3 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, one-time tax
benefit associated with the decrease in its deferred tax liability
balance during the first quarter of fiscal year 2018.
-
Sale of Calavo Growers, Inc., stock for a $4.23 million gain or $0.19
per diluted share was realized during the fourth quarter of fiscal
year 2018.
-
Non-cash impairment of Santa Maria real estate assets for $1.56
million or $.07 per diluted share was realized during fourth quarter
of fiscal year 2018.
Excluding these three non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share
are expected to be in the range of $0.50 to $0.52 for fiscal year 2018.
The range is calculated with 16.2 million share outstanding and adjusted
EBITDA is expected to increase approximately 20% and be in the range of
$23.0 million to $24.0 million.
For fiscal year 2019, the Company expects earnings per diluted share to
be in the range of $0.75 to $0.85 with an estimated 18.4 million shares
outstanding. Factoring in the following items:
-
Fiscal year 2019 outlook estimates do not include potential results
from the Harvest at Limoneira project. Phase 1 site improvements are
underway and the joint venture has received lot deposits from national
homebuilders. The joint venture is expected to close on lot sales
during the first quarter of fiscal year 2019.
-
The Company anticipates approximately $0.14 to $0.18 per share fiscal
year 2019 accretion from the recent acquisitions.
-
Not included in the acquisition expectations or earnings for fiscal
2019 are 1,200 acres currently non-bearing lemons that are estimated
to become full-bearing over the next four years. Beyond these 1,200
acres, Limoneira currently intends to plant an additional 500 acres of
lemons in the next two years that it believes will further build its
long-term pipeline of productive acreage. The Company anticipates this
additional acreage will increase annual lemon supply from its current
level by approximately 30%, or about 900 thousand to 1.3 million
additional fresh cartons, as the non-bearing and planned acreage
becomes productive. The Company also expects to have a steady increase
in third party grower fruit. This is all organic growth and doesn’t
include potential acquisition opportunities in a highly fragmented
industry.
Management Comments
Harold Edwards, President and Chief
Executive Officer, stated, "Fiscal 2018 was a very strong year for
Limoneira with record revenue and net income despite the fourth quarter
delay of our desert lemon harvest. Because of events like this harvest
delay, the standard business practice of an agribusiness is to manage
operations on an annual basis not a quarterly basis and our operating
results should be viewed on an annual basis. We have dramatically
reduced the seasonal nature of our business by developing a year-round
supply capability and expect that to continue to improve in future
years. Our recent acquisitions, expanded lemon planting efforts, and
affiliated grower recruiting efforts have us very well positioned for
continued strong top and bottom line growth in fiscal year 2019 and
beyond. To support our strong belief in the future opportunities for us,
we increased our dividend by 20% today.”
Mr. Edwards continued, "As we enter fiscal year 2019, we are very
excited about the expected contributions from our recent acquisitions as
well as the expected organic growth in all of our citrus offerings. In
addition, our real estate venture, Harvest at Limoneira is
expected to close on lot sales during the first quarter of fiscal year
2019 and we believe this project will deliver strong cash flow that we
will reinvest into the growth of our agriculture businesses.”
The Company will report its full fourth quarter and fiscal year 2018
results on January 14, 2019.
Conference Call Information
The Company will host a conference call to discuss its financial results
on January 14, 2019, at 1:30 pm Pacific Time (4:30 pm Eastern Time).
Investors interested in participating in the live call can dial (800)
289-0438 from the U.S. International callers can dial (323) 794-2423. A
telephone replay will be available approximately two hours after the
call concludes and will be available through Monday, January 28, 2019,
by dialing (844) 512-2921 from the U.S., or (412) 317-6671 from
international locations; passcode is 4075442.
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 lē
mon´âra) is a dedicated sustainability company with 14,500 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, including
guidance for fiscal year 2018 and 2019, 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'sSEC 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.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Due to significant depreciable assets associated with the nature of our
operations and interest costs associated with our capital structure,
management believes that earnings before interest, income taxes,
depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) and adjusted EBITDA, which
excludes impairments on real estate development assets when applicable,
is an important measure to evaluate our Company’s results of operations
between periods on a more comparable basis. Such measures are widely
used by analysts, investors and lenders as well as by management in
assessing our Company’s financial performance and business trends
relating to our results of operations and financial condition. These
measurements are not prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted
accounting principles (“GAAP”) and should not be construed as an
alternative to reported results determined in accordance with GAAP. The
non-GAAP information provided is unique to our Company and may not be
consistent with methodologies used by other companies. With respect to
our expectations under " Fiscal Year 2017 Business Update and Initial
Fiscal Year 2018 Guidance " above, the Company has not provided a
reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP measures, primarily due to
variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections,
as not all the information necessary for a quantitative reconciliation
is available to the Company without unreasonable efforts.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181219005153/en/
Source: Limoneira Company
Investors
ICR
John Mills, 646-277-1254
Managing
Partner
or
Media
LIMONEIRA
John Chamberlain,
805-525-5541 ext. 1056
Director-Marketing
