ML Macadamia
loss shrinksNut revenues increased as weather
affected the timing of the harvest
ML Macadamia Orchards, Hawaii's biggest grower of macadamia nuts, lost $185,000 in its second quarter but that was a turnaround from a loss of $241,000 in the three months through June 30 last year.
The second quarter is relatively unimportant in its seasonal business, marking the end of the harvest season, and usually accounts for less than 5 percent of the year's harvest, the partnership said yesterday.
"It's really the off season for us," said Dennis Simonis, president and chief operating officer.
Nut revenues were $372,000 in the latest quarter, a 323 percent increase from $88,000 in the 2002 quarter, because different weather affected the timing of the harvest, the partnership said.
ML Macadamia had nearly twice as much revenue from the farms it runs for others as it had from its own orchards, $736,000 in the three months through June 30, up 28 percent from farming revenues of $574,000 in the year-earlier quarter.
The net loss in the latest quarter was equal to 2 cents a share, compared to 3 cents a share in the 2002 period. Technically, the shares are Class A partnership units, but are traded under the symbol NUT on the New York Stock Exchange just like corporate common stock.
In the first half of this year, ML Macadamia had a net loss of $328,000, or 4 cents a share, compared to a loss of $387,000, or 5 cents a share, in the first six months of last year. Half-year revenues of $3.4 million were up 4.4 percent from $3.3 million last year.
Simonis said the outlook for Hawaii-produced macadamia nuts is improving, partly because of bad weather conditions for Hawaii's biggest competitor, Australia, and partly because mainland buyers are willing to pay a premium for nuts that come from Hawaii.
"Australia has had extremely hot weather, very dry weather, and they've also had some cold spells which macadamia nuts don't like," he said. "Right now, the imports from Australia are down quite a bit."
ML Macadamia's shares closed down 5 cents yesterday to $3.50 before the earnings announcement.
