Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

So, I think we’re benefiting a bit because we’re seeing — we saw higher volumes during our fourth quarter than we did a year ago, not only because of these other varieties, but because these other varieties not only do they generate higher yields, but they’re more pliable in terms of the timing of the harvest. So, we’ve been able to accelerate some and take advantage of these windows to kind of smooth the harvest window out a little bit more than what we’ve seen in prior years, though we certainly benefited from those volumes coming off earlier and the higher price environment that we saw during the fourth quarter. As we look forward, typically Q1 would be our largest quarter in terms of harvest of blueberries, and we still believe that will be the case.

There’ll be an uptick from where we were in Q4 in terms of volume. On the flip side, we anticipate that pricing will likely soften a little bit from where it was in Q4 as volumes for the industry do ramp up somewhat, and that’s something we’ll continue to monitor. We still think it’ll be very attractive relative to where we were a year ago at this time, but nonetheless, probably a little — track a little lower than what we saw in the fourth quarter. So, higher volumes, lower pricing, is kind of what we expect. And again, the goal for us is to try to stretch that harvest season out so we’re not flooding the market with blueberries at any given time. So, we may even see opportunities to stretch some of this into the second quarter, and that would improve returns further.

Stephen J. Barnard: The other thing, Gerry, most of Peru, I would say 65% or 70% still have those old varieties, and the El Nino effect has affected those older varieties much more than these new stronger versions. So, that’s helped us also, which makes the price go up.

Gerry Sweeney: I appreciate it guys. Thank you.

Bryan Giles: Hey, no problem.

Stephen J. Barnard: Okay. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, at this time, I’m showing no further questions. Now, I’d like to turn the — to end the question-and-answer session and turn the conference call back over to management for any closing remarks.

Stephen J. Barnard: Well, thank you everyone for your interest in Mission Produce and we look forward to speaking with you again soon.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today’s conference call. We do thank you for attending. You may now disconnect your lines.