Limoneira, a large company with 4,451 hectares of fruit cultivation in California, recently published figures for the third quarter. The company saw sales increasing from 29.8 million dollars last year to 39.9 million dollars this year.
The largest part of sales, 26.2 million dollars, came from the sales of lemons. A year earlier, lemon sales were 23.9 million dollars for the same period. The increased turnover is in part thanks to a larger volume being marketed. This positive development was partially undone by the lower prices of the third quarter. Approximately 846,000 boxes of lemons were marketed, at an average price of 27.19 dollars per box. In the third quarter of 2015, 759,000 boxes were sold at an average price of 28.06 dollars per box.
Turnover of avocados tripled. Last year, turnover amounted to 3 million dollars, this year it was 9.6 million dollars. Due to both a larger volume and higher prices, this number increased sharply. The avocado harvest for this fiscal year is as good as finished.
Sales of oranges also did well. Turnover increased from 1 million dollars in 2015 to 1.9 million dollars in 2016. Sales of other crops amounted to 759,000 dollars. The EBITDA amounted to 19.3 million dollars. A year earlier it had amounted to about 10 million dollars less.
The result of the first nine months of the fiscal year was also good. Sales amounted to 92.3 million dollars against 86.1 million dollars during the same period a year previously. The EBITDA was at 18 million dollars, compared to 13 million dollars a year earlier.