Alico NASDAQ: ALCO is positioning itself as a diversified Florida land and real estate company after winding down its legacy citrus operations, a company representative told investors during a recent presentation.
The representative said Alico has been public since 1960 and listed on the Nasdaq since 1972. The company, which has operated in Florida for about 128 years, currently has a market capitalization of roughly $300 million and about $45 million in net debt, according to the presentation. Its shares rose 40% last year and are up more than 10% this year, a move the representative tied to the company’s business model transition.
A Shift Away From Citrus
Historically, Alico generated returns from its Florida land by growing crops, most notably oranges, and selling them to orange juice producers, including Tropicana in recent years. The company decided in January 2025 that citrus operations were no longer profitable after two years of losses of about $30 million annually, the representative said.
The company cited citrus greening disease, which weakened trees and reduced output, as well as hurricane damage in 2022 and October 2024. Alico concluded the trees were unlikely to recover sufficiently and shifted away from being a traditional agricultural operator.
“What that did is it really lowered our overhead, it lowered our risk profile, it certainly lowered our cash burn rate, and increased the visibility for profitability,” the representative said.
Alico now owns about 46,000 acres across 27 locations in seven Florida counties. The company said approximately 72% of its land is expected to remain suited for agriculture. Rather than operating all of that land itself, Alico is leasing acreage to citrus and non-citrus agricultural growers and collecting lease payments.
Management Sees Significant Land Value
The representative said Alico reviewed its portfolio “acre by acre” with internal teams and outside consultants to determine potential highest and best uses. Management grouped the land into three categories:
- About 5,500 acres that could be developed within five years, with an estimated present value of $335 million to $380 million.
- Another 7,100 acres with mid- to long-term development potential, estimated at $140 million to $170 million.
- Roughly 33,400 acres expected to remain agricultural, estimated at $175 million to $200 million.
Altogether, management estimates the company’s land could be worth $650 million to $750 million, compared with the roughly $300 million market capitalization cited in the presentation. The representative emphasized that those figures reflect management estimates based on comparable transactions, county-level development trends and outside analysis.
Collier County Project Is Central to Development Plans
The company’s most prominent near-term project is in Collier County, near Naples, where Alico has 4,660 acres intended for development. The representative said the company recently received a significant county approval under Collier County’s Rural Land Stewardship Program, though state and federal approvals are still pending.
Alico plans to divide the Collier project into two villages. The East Village would come first and is expected to include about 1,500 acres and roughly 4,500 homes. The full project could eventually approach 9,000 homes, along with commercial uses along major road frontage.
The representative also highlighted conservation commitments tied to the Collier project. Alico plans to place about 7,000 acres into conservation, including about 1,500 acres adjacent to the property to connect panther habitat. The company also contributed $5 million toward an underpass intended to help wildlife cross a highway.
Other potential development projects include Bonnet Lake in Highlands County, where 600 acres could support about 2,000 homes; Saddlebag Grove in Polk County, where about 240 acres could support roughly 450 homes; and Mobley Plant World near LaBelle in Hendry County, where 83 acres could potentially support about 250 homes.
Capital Returns and Balance Sheet
The representative said Alico has returned $209 million to shareholders or voluntarily repaid debt since 2015, including $107 million since 2021. The company has historically paid a common dividend, completed a $25.5 million tender offer, and recently completed a $10 million share repurchase program under Rule 10b5-1. Another $40 million remains authorized through May 2028.
Alico reported $53 million of debt and $32 million of net debt at the end of the most recent quarter discussed in the presentation. The company also guided to $14 million of EBITDA for the fiscal year and said it expects to end the fiscal year with a cash balance of about $40 million. The representative said Alico believes it has enough flexibility to operate through at least fiscal 2028 without additional actions.
Questions Focus on Valuation, Development Strategy and Debt
During the question-and-answer session, the representative said the company uses a discount rate between 10% and 15% for its valuation work.
Asked whether Alico would own and operate commercial properties or sell them, the representative said the company is preserving optionality. Possible approaches include developing properties itself, selling entitled land outright to homebuilders or developers, or partnering with builders in exchange for upfront and ongoing proceeds. The representative said he was “not really crazy” about the partnership option but that the board may narrow its preferred paths over the next year.
On debt, the representative said Alico has $70 million of debt with MetLife, with a balloon payment due in November 2029. He said the company views the loan-to-value ratio as $70 million against a potential $600 million to $700 million land value. Alico could refinance early at a higher interest rate, wait for additional asset sales, or roll the debt forward, he said.
Asked about agricultural land pricing, the representative said Alico’s model assumes values in the high $4,000s to low $5,000s per acre, while recent sales over the past year and a half have been around $9,000 per acre or higher. He cautioned that the higher figure is not guaranteed to continue.
The representative also described Florida as business friendly compared with California, citing transparent county approval processes and the absence of state income tax for individuals.
About Alico NASDAQ: ALCO
Alico, Inc is an agribusiness and land management company headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida. The company owns and manages over 110,000 acres of land in southwestern Florida, with operations focused on citrus groves, sugarcane production, forestry and other row crops. Alico leverages its extensive land holdings to support integrated agricultural and environmental stewardship practices.
In its citrus division, Alico cultivates and markets fresh oranges for both the retail and processing markets, while its sugarcane segment supplies raw cane to domestic sugar mills.
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