Alico Citrus, a division of Alico, Inc., harvested less than half its citrus in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023 as it did in the prior year. The decline was largely the result of impacts from Hurricane Ian in September 2022. Alico has approximately 49,000 citrus acres in seven Florida counties.
The company reported on Dec. 6 that it harvested 2.7 million boxes of fruit in the fiscal year, a decrease of 51.5% from the prior year. It noted that its rate of production decline was substantially better than the 61.7% orange production decline for Florida, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
PER POUND SOLIDS PRICE RISES
As anticipated, Alico’s average realized price per pound solids rose from $2.63 in the prior fiscal year to $2.70 in fiscal year 2023. The company anticipates market prices in the 2023–24 harvest season to be consistent or slightly above this past season’s prices.
John Kiernan, Alico, Inc. president and chief executive officer, stated that Alico was recovering from Hurricane Ian during 2023 “and our financial results were disappointing as we expected.”
He added that the approximately $28.2 million of insurance proceeds Alico received during the fiscal year were used to help maintain grove caretaking programs. As a result, “Alico will be ready to harvest a healthy citrus crop in 2023–24,” he stated.
“We continue to hope to receive federal disaster relief funds from the Consolidated Appropriations Act that was passed into law December 2022, although we cannot determine the amount of relief we may be eligible for or the timing of any possible relief fund payments,” Kiernan added.
CONFIDENCE IN CROP
Kiernan expressed confidence that Alico’s crop recovery will be significant this season in part because of “the maturity of over 2 million trees planted by the company since 2017.” He added that more than 35% of the company’s trees have been treated with an oxytetracycline injection since January 2023 to combat citrus greening. The goal of the injections is to improve fruit quality and decrease the fruit drop rate. “The full extent of its benefits will not be measurable until after the 2023–24 harvest,” Kiernan stated.
INCOME SUMMARY
For the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2023, Alico, Inc. reported net income of $1.8 million, compared to net income of $12.5 million the prior year.
Cost increases for fertilizer, herbicide, labor and fuel combined with decreased revenue because of lower box production for the early, mid-season and Valencia orange harvests.
For the fiscal year, the company had earnings of $0.24 per diluted common share compared to $1.65 the prior year.
Source: Alico, Inc.
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