Mission Produce reports Q1 adjusted EPS (9c), consensus (6c)

Reports Q1 revenue $258.7M, consensus $210.75M. Steve Barnard, CEO of Mission, commented, “We are off to a strong start in fiscal 2024 with the delivery of a first quarter that demonstrated solid execution across all facets of our business. The team’s focus resulted in significantly improved per-unit margins, which translated to nearly 700 basis points of gross margin expansion and resulted in a significant improvement in adjusted EBITDA performance year-over-year. Our margin improvement was spurred by strength in avocado margins in our Marketing & Distribution segment, as well as the achievement of record quarterly revenues in our Blueberries segment due to advantageous pricing conditions, which contributed meaningfully to our overall adjusted EBITDA generation. In our International Farming segment, our team has been focused on implementing cost savings measures across our farming and packing operations. We expect to see the benefits of these initiatives in the second half of our fiscal year when we harvest and sell our owned avocado production from Peru. Our improved overall performance is a direct result of the actions we are taking to optimize our business and enhance profitability, and it is expected to result in a meaningful step-up in free cash flow generation in 2024.”