Alico, Inc. : Announces Fiscal Year 2011 Fourth Quarter and Annual Earnings
12/20/2011| 10:28am US/Eastern
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Investor Contact:
JD Alexander
Chief Executive Officer and President
239-226-2000
Alico, Inc. Announces Fiscal Year 2011 Fourth Quarter
and Annual Earnings
- Settlement Agreement in Principle Reached with
IRS
Fort Myers, FL, December 14, 2011-
Alico, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALCO) ("Alico"), a land
management company, today announced financial results for
the fiscal year 2011 fourth quarter and for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 2011.
Net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011
was $1.5 million or $(0.20) per share as compared to a net
loss of $2.9 million, or $(0.39) per share for the fourth
quarter of fiscal year 2010. Loss from operations for the
fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011 was $1.8 million
compared to a loss from operations of $1.6 million for the
fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010.
For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2011, net
income totaled $7.1 million or $0.96 per share as compared
to a net loss of $0.6 million or $0.08 per share for fiscal
year 2010. Income from operations for fiscal year 2011 was
$15.2 million compared to $3.5 million for fiscal year
2010.
JD Alexander, Alico's President and Chief
Executive Officer, stated "We continued to make
significant progress in fiscal year 2011 as we increased
our operating revenues by $18.8 million and net income by
$7.7 million, strengthened our balance sheet by paying down
long-term debt by $16.3 million and generated Adjusted
EBITDA of $23.2 million for the year. Additionally, we
reached a settlement agreement in principle, through the
IRS Appeals process, to pay approximately $1.6 million in
taxes and interest to settle claims of $31.1 million
originally asserted by the IRS for the tax periods 2005
through 2007. We have maintained that the tax positions we
took were supportable and believe this settlement agreement
in principle reflects that."
Mr. Alexander concluded, "Our agricultural
operations benefitted from increased selling prices and
increased production during fiscal year 2011. We anticipate
citrus and sugarcane production increases over fiscal year
2011 as we continue to improve our agricultural operations.
As we begin fiscal year 2012, we are confident about the
continued financial stability of our business and our
position in the marketplace."
Fiscal Year 2011 Fourth Quarter Results
For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011, total
operating revenue was $6.2 million, as compared to $5.6
million for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010, an
increase of 10.7%. The Company's agricultural
operations are seasonal in nature with the least amount of
revenue being generated in the first and fourth fiscal
quarters, while increasing in the second quarter and
peaking in the third quarter.
Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter of
fiscal year 2011 were $5.2 million compared to $5.5 million
for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010. Gross profit
for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011 was $1.0 million
compared to $0.1 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal
year 2010. The gross profit in the fourth quarter of fiscal
2010 was negatively impacted by an impairment of $1.0
million expensed to the Real Estate segment.
EBITDA (defined as net income excluding interest
expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) for
the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011 was $0.7 million as
compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $2.0 million for the fourth
quarter of fiscal year 2010. A reconciliation of EBITDA and
Adjusted EBITDA to the GAAP measure net income is provided
at the end of this release. The decrease of $1.3 in EBITDA
in the fourth quarter of 2011 is principally due to legal
and professional fees expended as a result of the IRS
examination of the Company's 2005 through 2007 tax
years and the Company's contesting of the positions
taken by the IRS through the IRS Appeals process.
On November 22, 2011, we reached a settlement
agreement in principle with the IRS. The settlement
provides that Agri-Insurance Company, Ltd., a wholly owned
subsidiary of Alico, Inc., was eligible to elect to be
treated as a United States taxpayer. No determination was
made as to whether Alico, Inc. or Alico-Agri, Ltd. was a
dealer in real estate; however, for two sales transactions
at issue, we agreed to treat one-third of the taxable gain
as ordinary income taxable in the year of sale with the
remaining two-thirds treated as capital gain eligible for
installment sale treatment. Federal and state taxes and
interest due as a result of the settlement are estimated at
approximately $0.9 million and $0.7 million, respectively,
and have been accrued at September 30, 2011. Federal
penalties of $15.3 million were considered by IRS Appeals
and have been waived. The remaining $1.3 million in
penalties have not yet been considered by IRS Appeals to
date but waiver of these penalties would be consistent with
the issues resolved in the settlement.
Fiscal Year 2011 Results
Net income for the fiscal year ended September 30,
2011 was $7.1 million, or $0.96 per share, compared to a
net loss of $0.6 million, or $0.08 loss per share, for
fiscal year 2010, an increase of 1239.2%. Income from
operations for fiscal year 2011 was $15.2 million as
compared to $3.5 million for fiscal year 2010, an increase
of 334.3%. For the year ended September 30, 2011, total
operating revenue was $98.6 million as compared to $79.8
million for fiscal year 2010, an increase of 23.6%.
Fiscal year 2011 agriculture operations revenue of
$95.9 million included $47.1 million in Citrus Groves
revenue compared to $36.4 million during fiscal year 2010.
The increase in Citrus Groves revenue of $10.7 million and
gross profit of $8.6 million were due to an increase in
citrus prices as a result of market supply conditions and
increases in the crop yield. The number of boxes sold
during the year ended September 30, 2011 was 4.1 million as
compared to 3.6 million during fiscal year 2010, an
increase of 13.9%.
Sugarcane revenue for fiscal year 2011 was $7.8
million, an increase of $3.7 million or 90.3%, as compared
with fiscal year 2010. Sugarcane gross profit for the year
ended September 30, 2011, was $1.0 million as compared with
$0.4 million for year ended September 30, 2010, an increase
of $0.6 million or 146.7%. The increase in revenues and
gross profit was attributable to favorable market prices
received for sugarcane and an increase in sugarcane
production from the additional 4,000 acres planted as a
result of the replanting efforts which began in fiscal year
2010.
Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal year 2011 was $23.2
million as compared to $12.3 million in fiscal year 2010,
primarily due to the improved performance of the
agricultural operations. Specifically, the Citrus Groves
segment improved gross profit by $8.6 million over fiscal
year 2010. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to the GAAP
measure net income is provided at the end of this
release.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
The Company had working capital of $17.4 million at
September 30, 2011, compared to $29.5 million at September
30, 2010, primarily due to a cash management arrangement
implemented in fiscal year 2011 that sweeps excess cash
daily from the Company's operating bank accounts to pay
down the outstanding balance of its revolving line of
credit. Cash provided by operating activities during the
fiscal year 2011 was $16.7 million as compared to $7.1
million during fiscal year 2010. The Company primarily
applied such cash flows towards debt reduction during the
year ended September 30, 2011.
About Alico, Inc.
Alico, headquartered in Fort Myers, FL, is a land
management company operating in Central and Southwest
Florida. Alico owns approximately 139,600 acres of land
located in Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Polk counties,
Florida. Alico is involved in citrus, sugarcane, cattle and
other agricultural operations and real estate activities.
Alico's mission is to grow its asset values through its
agricultural and real estate activities to produce superior
long-term returns for its shareholders. For more about
Alico, Inc., visit www.alicoinc.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 Alico'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.
Alico 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, Alico 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, regulation and rules; weather
conditions that affect production, transportation, storage,
import and export of fresh product;
increased pressure from 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 exchange
rates; availability of financing for land development
activities; political changes and economic crises;
international conflict; acts of terrorism; labor
disruptions; inability to pay debt obligations; inability
to engage in certain transactions due to restrictive
covenants in debt instruments; government restrictions on
land use; market and pricing risks due to concentrated
ownership of stock. Other risks and uncertainties include
those that are described in Alico's SEC filings, which
are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Alico under
takes 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 the Company's operations and interest
costs associated with its capital structure, management
believes that earnings before interest expense, income
taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA")
or Adjusted EBITDA, which additionally excludes the full
reserve established for the Farm Credit Patronage Dividend
and the impairment of a real estate asset, is an important
measure to evaluate the Company's results of operations
between periods on a more comparable basis. Such
measurements are not prepared in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States
("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
the Company and may not be consistent with methodologies
used by other companies. Unaudited EBITDA and Adjusted
EBITDA are summarized and reconciled to net income, which
management considers being the most directly comparable
financial measure calculated and presented in accordance
with GAAP as follows:
Quarter ended September 30
Year ended
September 30
2011
2010
2011
2010
Net income (loss)
$
(1,493)
$
(2,891)
$
7,097
$
(623)
Total interest expense, net
166
4,490
1,710
5,960
Income taxes
52
(2,699)
5,430
(1,201)
Depreciation and amortization
1,953
2,120
7,327
7,221
EBITDA
678
1,020
21,564
11,357
Full reserve of Farm Credit Patronage
Dividend
-
-
1,685
-
Impairment of Polk County property
-
980
-
980
Adjusted EBITDA
$
678
$
2,000
$
23,249
$
12,337
ALICO INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
September 30
2011
2010
ASSETS
(Dollars in thousands)
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
1,336
$
10,926
Investments
989
1,439
Accounts receivable, net of an allowance for
doubtful accounts $103 thousand in 2011 and $159
thousand in 2010, respectively
2,928
4,389
Income tax receivable
699
1,072
Inventories
22,373
18,601
Other current assets
856
1,014
Total current assets
29,181
37,441
Mortgages and notes receivable, net of current
portion
75
93
Investment in Magnolia Fund
10,283
12,699
Investments, deposits and other non-current
assets
2,220
3,666
Deferred tax asset
8,672
9,159
Cash surrender value of life insurance
824
786
Property, buildings and equipment, net
128,780
124,973
Total assets
$
180,035
$
188,817
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$
2,946
$
1,988
Long-term debt, current portion
3,279
1,281
Accrued expenses
1,719
1,025
Dividend payable
882
738
Accrued ad valorem taxes
1,938
1,818
Other current liabilities
1,063
1,062
Total current liabilities
11,827
7,912
Long-term debt, net of current portion
53,879
72,179
Deferred retirement benefits, net of current
portion
3,667
3,489
Total liabilities
69,373
83,580
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, no par value. Authorized
1,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding,
none.
-
-
Common stock, $1 par value. Authorized
15,000,000 shares; 7,377,106 and 7,379,229 shares
issued and 7,342,513 and 7,371,763 shares outstanding
at September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively
7,377
7,379
Additional paid in capital
9,212
9,310
Treasury stock at cost, 34,593 and 7,466 shares
held at September 30, 2011 and 2010,
respectively