Mission Produce, Inc., a leader in sourcing, producing, and distributing fresh Hass avocados with additional offerings in mangos and blueberries, reported its financial results for the fiscal third quarter ended July 31, 2024.

The report shows revenue reached $324.0 million, up 24% from the same period last year, which the company said was primarily driven by its Marketing and Distribution segment, where average per-unit avocado sales prices increased 36%, which more than offset a 10% decrease in avocado volume sold.

These price and volume dynamics resulted from lower avocado supply available during the quarter due to a combination of weather impacts on fruit development and production in Peru and fruit harvesting disruptions in Mexico.

"Despite overall volume reductions, domestic sales volumes were relatively flat during the quarter, demonstrating the resiliency of demand for avocados amid higher price points in the U.S. market," the report says. 

Additionally, gross profit increased by $8.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2024, compared to the same period last year, to $37.0 million and gross profit percentage increased by 50 basis points, to 11.4% of revenue.

The increases were attributed to the Marketing and Distribution segment, where strong per-unit margins on avocados sold more than offset lower volumes. 

 In the International Farming segment, gross profit was negatively impacted by a $3.2 million asset write-down for undeveloped land that was reassumed by the Peruvian government.

Net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 was $12.4 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, compared to $6.6 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the same period last year.

Adjusted net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 was $16.7 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, compared to $10.3 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, for the same period last year.

“Our team’s ability to leverage our global sourcing network to meet customer demand amid a more challenging production year for our farming operations in Peru was commendable," said Steve Barnard, CEO of Mission. "The result of this focus was an achievement of per-unit margins that exceeded our targeted range, which is a testament to our team's exceptional execution and ability to capitalize on favorable market conditions."

Adjusted EBITDA was $31.5 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2024, an increase of $10.3 million or 49% as compared to $21.2 million in the prior year period, driven primarily by stronger gross profit performance from the Marketing & Distribution segment.

Outlook for Q4

For the fourth quarter of  2024, the Company said it is providing the following industry outlooks that will drive performance:

• Industry volumes are expected to be flat to slightly lower in the fiscal 2024 fourth quarter versus the prior year period.  The California and Peru harvest seasons will conclude, and the Company will transition to a Mexico-centric source model during the latter part of the quarter.  Sales of exportable avocado production from Mission’s owned farms is expected to be slightly below the fiscal third quarter 2024 volume of approximately 25 million pounds.
• Pricing is expected to decrease on a sequential basis, but remain approximately 15% higher than the $1.39 per pound average experienced in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
• The blueberry harvest season in Peru will begin to ramp up during the quarter.  The Company expects to see meaningful volume increases from our owned farms, but the impact on revenue will likely be offset by lower average sales prices.  The lower prices are expected to impact segment-adjusted EBITDA during the quarter, as compared to the previous year when supply constraints led to abnormally high sales prices.
• Capital expenditures are expected to remain in the range of $40 to $45 million for the full year fiscal 2024.