SANTA PAULA, CA – As the Southern California fires continue, Limoneira is reporting probable minimal damage to its properties. Financially, the company anticipates exceptional revenue and operating income for fiscal year 2017. Just what supported the company’s thriving endeavors this year?

"We believe we will achieve record revenue and operating profit in fiscal 2017 despite the delayed timing of our desert lemon harvest. Our recent acquisitions, our expanded lemon planting efforts, our affiliated grower recruiting efforts, our new lemon packinghouse, our sales/marketing alliance with Suntreat for our oranges and specialty citrus and our focus on improving operating efficiencies have us very well positioned for continued growth in our operating results in fiscal year 2018,” said Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, in a recent press release. "As we enter fiscal 2018, we are very excited about the overall strength of our agriculture business as well as our real estate venture, Harvest at Limoneira. This project involved years of thoughtful planning with our joint venture partner, the Lewis Group, and the commitment of city, county and state-wide officials. As we embark on this tremendous opportunity, we believe it will deliver strong cash flow and long-term value for our shareholders and the county of Ventura, CA."

According to the company’s recent press release regarding its fiscal year 2017 and initial fiscal year 2018 guidance, curent expectations include:

• A revenue of approximately $120 million
• Earnings per diluted share between $0.40 to $0.44 per share
• Operating income between $11.5 million and $12 million
• EBITDA between $18.6 million and $19.1 million

The company anticipates an even higher climb come 2018, projecting earnings per diluted share to be around $0.55 to $0.65 during fiscal year 2018. Hopeful that Harvest at Limoneira’s lot sales process will begin during 2018’s spring, with closings to impact fiscal year 2019, Phase 1 of the project alone currently has about 632 units in tow.

In regards to the Thomas and other local fires, the company reports, thankfuly, that its initial assessment shows the orchards suffered no significant damage; however, 14 of the company’s 265 farm-worker housing units have been destroyed by the fire, and the company’s packinghouse went through a brief power outage. As the company recovers from what damage has occurred, including the estimated $60,000 replacement for the housing unit, it is optimistic that the fire and wind damage will not have a material impact on operations results.

“We are very thankful for the hundreds of firefighters that have braved the fires to protect our properties as well as the properties of our friends and neighbors. We will know in the coming months if the fires affected our avocado or citrus crops for fiscal 2018. In addition, we do not believe the wildfires caused any long-term damage to our orchards,” said Alex Teague, Chief Operating Officer, in a recent press release.

The company released its press release with additional information on its anticipated fiscal 2018 year, as it looks back on its lemon harvests hailing from Yuma, Arizona. For a look at the press release, click here.

As we look to January of 2018 for a full report, how will the company’s fourth quarter and fiscal year 2017 pan out? Stay tuned into AndNowUKnow, for the latest fresh produce industry news!

Limoneira