Limoneira (NASDAQ: LMNR) reported Q3 EPS of $0.50, $0.05 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.55. Revenue for the quarter came in at $39.95 million versus the consensus estimate of $37.27 million.

Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Strong lemon and orange results in fiscal third quarter were partially offset by reduced avocado pricing due to a record heat that occurred late in the third quarter. The positive pricing environment and increased volume for lemons continues to improve since the end of the third quarter and we are very confident we will achieve our full year guidance. Our Chilean lemon volume and pricing in the fourth quarter is exceeding our previous expectations and continues to reduce the seasonal nature of our business.”

Mr. Edwards continued, "In addition to solid third quarter operating results, we also successfully completed a $69 million capital raise which was followed by two key strategic acquisitions, San Pablo in Chile and Oxnard Lemon in California. The capital raise combined with expected EBITDA growth in the coming years has us well positioned for additional acquisitions. Lastly, our real estate venture, Harvest at Limoneira, recently completed the lot bidding process for Phase 1 and we have begun receiving deposits for lots from national homebuilders. We are on schedule and believe this venture will be a significant contributor to our cash flow in the coming years.”

Alex Teague, Senior Vice President, stated, "The two strategic acquisitions in the third quarter expand our client reach and enable us to reduce the seasonality in our business by being a year-round supplier of citrus, complementing our One World Of Citrus™ platform. In Chile, the purchase of the San Pablo ranch provides us with significantly expanded production that we are able to leverage through our investment in Rosales packing and allows further seasonal diversification of our fruit. The Oxnard Lemon packinghouse acquisition in California greatly enhances our ability to handle the expected future growth of our packing operations.”

GUIDANCE:

Limoneira sees FY2018 EPS of $0.65-$0.70, versus the consensus of $0.69.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Limoneira (LMNR) click here.