SANTA PAULA, CA – The month of March has crept up quickly, but here we are at the end of Limoneira's first financial quarter. After this first big bite out of 2018, the company is announcing its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2018.

The company’s net revenue made a big jump this year—12 percent to be exact—coming in at $31.6 million, whereas last year, it came in at $28.1 million during the same quarter.

“We are pleased with our first quarter fiscal 2018 results, generating consolidated revenue growth of 12 percent and positive EBITDA in a seasonal soft quarter. Our core citrus business is performing consistent with plan, and we are encouraged by the early results from our strategic alliance with Suntreat, which is advancing our competitiveness in the orange and specialty citrus category. We continue to seek new avenues to build upon our One World Citrus™ marketing program and improve the availability of fresh citrus to our growing ranks of global customers,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Harold Edwards.

Another gain seen by the company is in its agribusiness sector, which saw an increase from last year’s $26.8 million during the first quarter to the $30.3 million this year during the same time frame. The company reported in a recent press release that this is due to higher prices and volume of fresh lemons sold, in addition to oranges and other specialty citrus during the same time of fiscal 2017.

Lemon sales amounted to $27.8 million for agribusiness revenue during the first quarter of fiscal year 2018, while last year’s lemon sales’ were $26 million.

Orange revenue also spiked, up from last year’s $.5 million during the first quarter to this year’s $1.3 million.

“We are updating our fiscal 2018 EPS guidance to reflect the reduction in our federal corporate income tax rate. We continue to remain confident in our core fundamental business drivers and are excited about the prospects of our real estate venture, Harvest at Limoneira, which is in the midst of the important lot bidding process. We are on schedule with Harvest at Limoneira and expect to begin generating cash flow at the beginning of fiscal 2019.”

According to the press release, the company's financial results are as follows:

• For the first quarter of Fiscal 2017 and Fiscal 2018, rental operations revenue came in at $1.3 million
• Costs and expenses for the company came in at $33.3 million for this year’s first quarter, up from $31.1 million last year; the company attributed the majority of this to the hike in costs and expenses for agribusiness
• The company reported that its EDITDA dropped from last year’s $1.3 million to this year’s $0.2 million during the first quarter of the fiscal years

For more detailed information on how the company’s financials fared in the midst of mother nature’s indecisiveness, check out the press release here.

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Limoneira Company