Document

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K



þ	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018
	or
¨	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the transition period
	from____________________	to______________________

Commission File Number: 0-261

Alico, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



Florida		59-0906081
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

10070 Daniels Interstate Court,
Suite 100, Fort Myers, FL		33913
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 239-226-2000

SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT:



Title of class:		Name of each exchange on which registered:
COMMON CAPITAL STOCK, $1.00 Par value		NASDAQ

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ¨ No þ

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that such registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filings requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes þ No ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 or Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “non-accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (Check one):



Large accelerated filer	¨	Accelerated filer	þ
Non-accelerated filer	¨	Smaller Reporting Company	¨
		Emerging Growth Company	¨

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.) Yes ¨ No þ

The aggregate market value of the voting and nonvoting common equity held by non-affiliates based on the closing price, as quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market as of March 29, 2018 (the last business day of Alico’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $89,596,038. Solely for the purposes of this calculation, the registrant has elected to treat all executives, officers and greater than 10% stockholders as affiliates of the registrant. There were 7,454,795 shares of common stock outstanding at December 3, 2018.

Documents Incorporated by Reference:

Portions of the Proxy Statement of Registrant for the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to be filed with the Commission under Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the Registrant's fiscal year), are incorporated by reference in Part III of this report.

ALICO, INC.

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018



PART I
Item 1. Business	1
Item 1A. Risk Factors	8
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments	17
Item 2. Properties	17
Item 3. Legal Proceedings	17
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures	18
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	19
Item 6. Selected Financial Data	22
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	24
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk	41
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	42
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	81
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures	81
Item 9B. Other Information	81
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	82
Item 11. Executive Compensation	82
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	82
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	82
Item 14. Principal Accountants Fees and Services	82
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules	83
Signatures	88

Cautionary Statement

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain “forward-looking statements,” as such term is defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). They are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions regarding our business and performance, the economy and other future conditions and forecasts of future events, circumstances and results. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often include words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates”, “estimates”, “projects,” “intends,” “plans” and other words and terms of similar substance in connection with discussions of future operating or financial performance. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future actions, business plans and prospects, prospective products, trends, future performance or results of current and anticipated products, sales efforts, expenses, interest rates, the outcome of contingencies, such as legal proceedings, plans relating to dividends, government regulations, the adequacy of our liquidity to meet our needs for the foreseeable future and our expectations regarding market conditions.

As with any projection or forecast, forward-looking statements are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Our actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could vary materially from past results and those anticipated, estimated or projected. Investors should bear this in mind as they consider forward-looking statements.

We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). We provide in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” a cautionary discussion of certain risks and uncertainties related to our businesses. These are factors that we believe, individually or in the aggregate, could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. We note these factors for investors as permitted by Section 21E of the Exchange Act. In addition, the operation and results of our business are subject to risks and uncertainties identified elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as general risks and uncertainties such as those relating to general economic conditions. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. Consequently, you should not consider such discussion to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties.

PART I

Item 1. Business

Alico, Inc. (“Alico”) was incorporated under the laws of the state of Florida in 1960. Collectively with its subsidiaries (the "Company", "we", "us" or "our"), our business and operations are described below. For detailed financial information with respect to our business and our operations, see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations which is included in Item 7 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and the related Notes therein, which are included in Item 8. In addition, general information concerning our Company can be found on our website, the internet address of which is http://www.alicoinc.com. All of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") including, but not limited to, the Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments thereto, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed or furnished with the SEC. Our recent press releases and information regarding corporate governance, including the charters of our audit, compensation, executive and nominating governance committees, as well as our code of business conduct and ethics are also available to be viewed or downloaded electronically at http://www.alicoinc.com. The information on our website is not part of this report or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.

Overview

Alico is an agribusiness with a legacy of achievement and innovation in citrus and conservation. The Company owns approximately 117,000 acres of land in eight Florida counties (Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands and Polk) including approximately 90,000 acres of mineral rights. Our principal lines of business are citrus groves and conservation.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2015, the Company acquired three Florida citrus properties for total consideration of approximately $363,000,000. These acquisitions made Alico one of the largest citrus producers in the United States of America.

Alico, Inc. operates two divisions: Alico Citrus, a citrus producer, and Alico Water Resources, a leading water storage and environmental services division.

The Company manages its land based upon its primary usage and reviews its performance based upon two primary classifications - Alico Citrus and Alico Water Resources and Other Operations. Other Operations includes lease for grazing rights, a lease to a third party of an aggregate mine and leases of oil extraction rights to third parties, farm lease revenue, the generation of revenues from sod and tree sales and rental income for office space. Alico presents its financial results and the related discussion based upon its two business segments: (i) Alico Citrus and (ii) Water Resources and Other Operations.

Recent Developments

Water Storage Contract Approval

In December 2012, the South Florida Water Management District (“SFWMD” or "District") issued a solicitation request for projects to be considered for the Northern Everglades Payment for Environmental Services Program ("Program"). In March 2013, the Company submitted its response proposing a dispersed water management project on a portion of its ranch land. The environmental services project ("Water Project") encompasses a large-scale water storage/nutrient load reduction project over approximately half of the Company's 72,000-acre ranch located in southern Hendry County. The Water Project has the ability to retain 94,000-acre feet of water, making it one of the largest private storage projects proposed to date and the largest within the Caloosahatchee River watershed. The Water Project was approved by the South Florida Water Management District in late 2014, and the Company's engineering and environmental consultants immediately began working on a detailed design. As a result of the uniqueness of the project site, which consists of over 11,000 acres of wetlands and several cultural resource sites, considerable effort has been undertaken over the past 3.5 years in securing necessary regulatory approvals for the project from both the State of Florida and the federal government. In addition, the project requires close coordination with adjacent landowners, as well as the water control districts that serve those landowner/properties. On September 29, 2015, the SFWMD amended the contract to extend it for an additional year. In 2016, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection included the project in the State’s Northern Everglades Public-Private Partnership Program.

the payments annually through its budget process and there can be no assurance that it will approve the annual fixed payments. The Florida budget for the state’s 2018/2019 fiscal year as approved included Save Our Everglades trust/legacy Florida funding for the Program. On September 19, 2018 the SFWMD issued a press release announcing the issuance of an Environmental Resource Permit for Alico. The SFWMD release also stated that (i) the issuance of the permit cleared the path for Alico to deliver a dispersed water storage project in the Caloosahatchee Watershed, (ii) Alico has all necessary state approvals to proceed, and (iii) the project is expected to be operational within one year from the start of construction, which is contingent on Alico securing additional local and federal approvals. These approvals include a compatible use agreement from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, as well as approvals from the local water control districts. Construction will begin immediately upon receipt of permits. Annual fixed payments will not commence until completion of construction. The Company anticipates receiving all necessary regulatory approvals within the next four to six months. The Company has not recognized any revenue to date from the contract. Operating expenses were approximately $1,619,000, $1,794,000 and $2,322,000 for each of the three years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Tender Offer

On September 5, 2018, the Board of Directors approved and Alico announced the commencement of an issuer offer (the “Tender Offer”) to purchase up to $19,999,990 in value of shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $34.00 per share. On October 3, 2018, upon the terms and subject to the conditions described in the Offer to Purchase dated September 5, 2018, Alico repurchased an aggregate of 752,234 shares at a price of $34.00 per share aggregating $25,575,956. These shares represented approximately 9.2% of the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding as of October 2, 2018. Included in the 752,234 shares were 163,999 shares that the Company elected to purchase pursuant to its right to purchase up to an additional 2% of its outstanding shares of common stock. 734 Investors, LLC, Alico’s largest stockholder since 2013, participated in the Tender Offer and sold a small percentage of its holdings of the Company’s common stock. Members of neither the management team nor the Board of Directors sold any shares directly to the Tender Offer.

Hurricane Irma

Florida’s citrus industry was hit hard by the impacts of Hurricane Irma during the 2017-2018 season. Alico’s 2018 production was down by approximately 36% from the prior season. While we lost a small percentage of trees, the force and duration of the storm impacted the majority of the groves. Based upon prior experience with serious storms of this nature, we expect it will take at least two seasons for the groves to recover to pre-hurricane production levels. We finished with production of 4,827,000 boxes in fiscal year 2018 and anticipate an increase in production in fiscal year 2019 to 6,300,000-6,600,000 boxes and a return to pre-hurricane production levels by fiscal year 2020, which is approximately 7,900,000 boxes.

Through November 30, 2018, the Company received insurance proceeds relating to Hurricane Irma of approximately $477,000 for property and casualty damage claims and approximately $8,952,000 for crop claims, which have been recorded in operating expenses. The Company has additional property and casualty claims outstanding and is awaiting determination of additional proceeds, if any, to be received. In addition to the commercial insurance claims which have been submitted, the Company may be eligible for Irma federal relief programs distributed by the Farm Service Agency under the 2017 Wildfires and Hurricane Indemnity Program (2017 WHIP) as well as block grants that will be administered through the State of Florida. The specifics of the programs are still being finalized and at this time, the Company cannot determine the amount of federal relief funds which will be received or when these funds will be disbursed.

Alico 2.0 Modernization Program

On November 16, 2017, we announced the Alico 2.0 Modernization Program (“Alico 2.0”). This program is transforming three legacy businesses (Alico, Orange Co., and Silver Nip) into a single efficient enterprise, Alico Citrus, so we will remain one of the leaders in the U.S. citrus industry. This initiative explored every aspect of Alico’s citrus and ranch operations, including corporate and operational cost structures, grove costs, purchasing and procurement, non-performing and under-performing assets, professional fees, and human resources efficiency.

Under this program, we expected to reduce citrus total expenses per acre to $2,164/acre and the cost to produce a pound solid to $1.56 when Alico 2.0 is fully implemented in 2020. These efficiencies are being achieved through better purchasing, more precise application of selected fertilizers and chemicals, outsourcing work such as harvesting, hauling, and certain caretaking tasks, and by streamlining grove management. We have also deployed a more efficient labor model that is consistent and uniform for field staffing and grove operating programs and aligns with the geographical footprint of the citrus groves.

In combination with these efforts, the Company is working to maintain operational efficiencies and deploy its resources to solidify the Company's position as a leader in the recovering citrus industry.

Alico 2.0 also led us to decide to divest assets that generated low rates of return and shut down parts of our operations that were not profitable. Alico Citrus has shut down its nursery in Gainesville, Florida, is in the process of selling its trailers and has either sold or is in the process of selling real estate assets that are not strategic to our business plan.

In January 2018, the Company sold its breeding herd and leased grazing rights on the Alico Ranch to a third party operator. However, the Company continues to own the property and continues to conduct its long-term water dispersement program and wildlife management programs. As part of the sales transaction, the Company expensed all inventory costs that were accumulated at the date of sale.

Alico 2.0 also included an enhanced program to plant more citrus trees. The Company planted over 400,000 trees in fiscal year 2018 to help position the Company for future production growth beyond 2020. The Company believes that its current acreage can produce 10,000,000 boxes per year on a sustained basis, even in an environment where citrus greening continues.

Termination Proceedings against Mr. Remy W. Trafelet

On November 19, 2018, Alico, with unanimous approval of the members of the Board of Directors, other than Remy W. Trafelet, notified Mr. Trafelet, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, that it intends to consider terminating his employment for “cause” pursuant to the terms of his employment agreement with the Company and option agreements entered into under the Company's Stock Incentive Plan of 2015 (collectively, the “Compensation Documents”). As required by the Compensation Documents, the Company will schedule a special meeting of the Board of Directors at a future date, at which meeting Mr. Trafelet and his counsel (if he so elects) may meet with the Board of Directors to address this matter. The Board of Directors will make its final determination as to Mr. Trafelet’s employment following such meeting. Mr. Trafelet has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of these proceedings. On November 28, 2018, the parties in the Florida Litigation (as defined below) stipulated to an order which provides, among other things, that pending the resolution of the Delaware Litigation (as defined below), the Board of Directors shall not take any action out of the routine day-to-day operations conducted in the ordinary course of business, including removing any corporate officers or directors from positions held as of November 27, 2018. For more information, see Item 3, "Legal Proceedings."

Appointment of Interim President

In connection with the commencement of the termination proceedings against Mr. Trafelet, Benjamin D. Fishman, a current member of the Board of Directors, was appointed to serve as Interim President of the Company, effective as of November 19, 2018. Henry R. Slack, the Company's Executive Chairman, and Mr. Fishman will manage the Company during the pendency of the termination proceedings. Neither Mr. Slack nor Mr. Fishman will receive any incremental compensation for their service during this period. In connection with assuming such interim role, Mr. Fishman has stepped down from the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, and Mr. Andrew Krusen has assumed the Chairmanship of the Audit Committee.

Operating Segments

Operating segments are defined in Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") - Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") ASC Topic 280, "Segment Reporting" as components of public entities that engage in business activities from which they may earn revenues and incur expenses for which separate financial information is available and which is evaluated regularly by the Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) in deciding how to assess performance and allocate resources. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 the Company’s CODM assessed performance and allocated resources based on two operating segments: (i) Alico Citrus and (ii) Water Resources and Other Operations.

Commencing in Alico's fiscal year 2018, the Company operates two business segments related to its various land holdings, as follows:


•	Alico Citrus includes activities related to planting, owning, cultivating and/or managing citrus groves in order to produce fruit for sale to fresh and processed citrus markets, including activities related to the purchase and resale of fruit and value-added services, which include contracting for the harvesting, marketing and hauling of citrus.

•

Water Resources and Other Operations consists of activities related to water conservation, leasing of grazing rights, mining royalties and other less significant lines of business. Also included are activities related to owning and/or leasing improved farmland. Improved farmland is acreage that has been converted, or is permitted to be converted, from native pasture and which may have various improvements including irrigation, drainage and roads.

Prior to the sale of the breeding herd in January 2018, the Company’s business also included cattle ranching.

The Land We Manage

We regularly review our land holdings to determine the best use of each parcel based upon our management expertise. Our total return profile is a combination of operating income potential and long-term appreciation. Land holdings not meeting our total return criteria are considered surplus to our operations and will be sold or exchanged for land considered to be more compatible with our business objectives and total return profile.

Our land holdings and the operating activities in which we engage are categorized in the following table:



	Gross Acreage	Operating Activities
Alico Citrus
Citrus Groves	44,983	Citrus Cultivation
Citrus Nursery	22	Citrus Tree Development
	45,005

Water Resources and Other Operations
Ranch	70,322	Leasing and Conservation
Other Land	1,434	Mining lease; Office

Total	116,761

Alico Citrus

We own and manage citrus land in DeSoto, Polk, Collier, Hendry, Charlotte, Highlands, and Hardee Counties and engage in the cultivation of citrus trees to produce citrus for delivery to the fresh and processed citrus markets. Alico citrus groves total approximately 45,000 gross acres or 38.5% of our land holdings.

Our citrus acreage is detailed in the following table:



	Net Plantable
	Producing	Developing	Fallow	Total Plantable	Support & Other	Gross
DeSoto County	14,980	1,096	482	16,558	4,650	21,208
Polk County	4,576	—	—	4,576	2,229	6,805
Collier County	4,261	—	—	4,261	2,905	7,166
Hendry County	3,546	57	175	3,778	1,707	5,485
Charlotte County	1,729	—	138	1,867	676	2,543
Highlands County	1,063	—	—	1,063	161	1,224
Hardee County	403	—	—	403	171	574
Total	30,558	1,153	795	32,506	12,499	45,005

Of the approximately 45,000 gross acres of citrus land we own and manage, approximately 12,500 acres are classified as support acreage. Support acreage includes acres used for roads, barns, water detention, water retention and drainage ditches integral to the cultivation of citrus trees, but which are not capable of directly producing fruit. In addition, we own a small citrus tree nursery and utilize the trees produced in our own operations. The approximately 32,500 remaining acres are classified as net plantable acres. Net plantable acres are those that are capable of directly producing fruit. These include acres that are currently producing, acres that are developing (acres that are planted with trees too young to commercially produce fruit) and acres that are fallow.

Our Alico Citrus business segment cultivates citrus trees to produce citrus for delivery to the processed and fresh citrus markets. Our sales to the processed market were approximately 93.7%, 91.7% and 86.9% of Alico Citrus revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. We produce Early and Mid-Season varieties, primarily Hamlin oranges, as well as a Valencia variety for the processed market. We deliver our fruit to the processors in boxes which each contains approximately 90 pounds of oranges. Because the processors convert the majority of the citrus crop into orange juice, they generally do not buy their citrus on a per box basis, but rather on a pound solids basis, which is the measure of the soluble solids (sugars and acids)

contained in one box of citrus fruit. We produced approximately 26,513,000, 42,611,000, and 51,404,000 pound solids for each of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively, from boxes delivered to processing plants of approximately 4,702,000, 7,259,000 and 8,829,000, respectively. As previously indicated, the falloff is fiscal year 2018 was in large part attributable to the impact of Hurricane Irma.

The average pound solids per box was 5.64, 5.87 and 5.82 for each of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

We generally use multi-year contracts with citrus processors that include pricing structures based on a minimum (“floor”) price with a price increase (“rise”) based on market conditions. Therefore, if pricing in the market is favorable relative to our floor price, we benefit from the incremental difference between the floor and the final market price.

Our citrus produced for the processed citrus market in fiscal year 2018-2019 under our largest agreement will be under minimum floor price ranging from $2.05 to $2.15 per pound solid and rise price from $2.50 to $2.65 per pound solid. Under this agreement, if the market price exceeds the rise prices, then 50% of the excess will be added to the rise price. Under our next largest agreement, our citrus produced will be under a minimum floor price of $2.60 per pound solid and rise price of $3.30 per pound solid. We believe that other markets are available for our citrus products; however, new arrangements may be less favorable than our current contracts.

Our sales to the fresh citrus market constituted approximately 2.6%, 4.6% and 3.8% of our Alico Citrus revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. We produce numerous varieties for the fresh fruit market including grapefruit, navel and other fresh varieties. Generally, our fresh fruit is sold to packing houses by the box and the packing houses are responsible for the harvest and haul of these boxes. We produced approximately 125,000, 328,000 and 402,000 fresh fruit boxes for each of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The majority of our citrus harvested for the fresh citrus market in fiscal year 2018-2019 is under fixed price contracts.

Revenues from our Alico Citrus operations were approximately 96.1%, 95.1% and 95.2% of our total operating revenues for each of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Water Resources and Other Operations

We own and manage land in Collier, Glades, and Hendry Counties and engaged in cattle grazing and sales, sod and native plant sales, and still continue with land leasing for recreational and grazing purposes, conservation, and mining activities. Our Water Resources and Other Operations land holdings total approximately 72,000 gross acres, or 61.5% of our total acreage.

Our Water Resources and Other Operations acreage is detailed in the following table as of September 30, 2018:



	Acreage
Hendry County	67,208
Glades County	526
Collier County	4,022
Total	71,756

In January 2018, the Company sold its breeding herd and leased grazing rights on the Alico Ranch to a third party operator. The

Company continues to own the property and conduct its long-term water dispersement program and wildlife management programs. As part of the sales transaction, the Company expensed all cattle inventory costs that were accumulated at the date of sale.

In fiscal year 2017, our cattle operation was engaged in the production of beef cattle in Hendry and Collier Counties. The breeding herd consisted of approximately 8,700 cows and bulls. We primarily sold our calves to feed yards and yearling grazing operations in the United States. We also sold cattle through local livestock auction markets and to contract cattle buyers in the United States. These buyers provided ready markets for our cattle. Revenues from Water Resources and Other Operations were approximately 3.9%, 4.9% and 4.8% of total operating revenues for each of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Our Strategy

Our core business strategy is to maximize stockholder value through continuously improving the return on our invested capital, either by holding and managing our existing land through skilled agricultural production, leasing, or other opportunistic means

of monetization, disposing of under productive land or business units and acquiring new land or operations with appreciation potential.

Our objectives are to produce the highest quality agricultural products, create innovative land uses, opportunistically acquire and convert undervalued assets, sell under-productive land and other assets not meeting our total return profile, generate recurring and sustainable profit with the appropriate balance of risk and reward, and exceed the expectations of stockholders, customers, clients and partners.

Our strategy is based on best management practices of our agricultural operations and the environmental and conservation stewardship of our land and natural resources. We manage our land in a sustainable manner and evaluate the effect of changing land uses while considering new opportunities. Our commitment to environmental stewardship is fundamental to the Company’s core beliefs.

Seasonal Nature of Business

As with any agribusiness enterprise, our agribusiness operations and revenues are predominantly seasonal in nature. The following table illustrates the seasonality of our agribusiness revenues:

Fiscal Year

Ending 12/31

Ending 3/31

Ending 6/30

Ending 9/30

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sept

Harvest Fresh and Early/Mid Varieties of Oranges

Harvest Valencia Oranges

Significant Customers

Revenue from Tropicana represented approximately 87%, 86% and 32.5% of our consolidated revenue for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The revenue in fiscal year 2018 from Tropicana was generated primarily from two separate contracts. This revenue was generated from the sale of our citrus product in the processed market. No other customer provided more than 6% of our consolidated revenue in fiscal year 2018 or 2017. In the fiscal year 2016, 34.2% of the revenue was obtained through Minute Maid.

Competition

The orange and specialty citrus markets are intensely competitive, but no single producer has any significant market power over any market segments, as is consistent with the production of most agricultural commodities. Citrus is grown domestically in several states including Florida, California, Arizona and Texas, as well as foreign countries, most notably Brazil. Competition is impacted by several factors including quality, production, demand, brand recognition, market prices, weather, disease, export/import restrictions and foreign currency exchange rates.

Environmental Regulations

Our operations are subject to various federal, state and local laws regulating the discharge of materials into the environment. Management believes we are in compliance with all such rules including permitting and reporting requirements. Historically, compliance with environmental regulations has not had a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Management monitors environmental legislation and requirements and makes every effort to remain in compliance with such regulations. In addition, we require lessees of our property to comply with environmental regulations as a condition of leasing.

Employees

As of September 30, 2018, we had 233 full-time employees. Our employees work in the following divisions:



Alico Citrus	212
Water Resources and Other Operations	0
Corporate, General, Administrative and Other	21
Total employees	233

None of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. We believe that our relations with our employees are good.

Capital Resources and Raw Materials

Management believes that the Company will be able to meet its working capital requirements for at least the next 12 months, and over the long term, through internally generated funds, cash flows from operations, the sale of under-productive land and other assets, our existing lines of credit and access to capital markets. The Company has commitments that provide for lines of revolving credit that are available for our general and corporate use.

Raw materials needed to cultivate the various crops grown by the Company consist primarily of fertilizers, herbicides and fuel and are readily available from local suppliers.

Available Information

We provide electronic copies of our SEC filings free of charge upon request. Any information posted on or linked from our website is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov, which contains annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Our business and results of operations are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. The following is a description of the known factors that we believe may materially affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. They should be considered carefully, in addition to the information set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, including the related Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in making any investment decisions with respect to our securities. Additional risks or uncertainties that are not currently known to us that we currently deem to be immaterial or that could apply to any company could also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Risks Related to our Business

Adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and other natural conditions, including the effects of climate change, could impose significant costs and losses on our business.

Fresh produce is vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, including windstorms, floods, drought and temperature extremes, which are quite common and may occur with higher frequency or be less predictable in the future due to the effects of climate change. Unfavorable growing conditions can reduce both crop size and crop quality. In extreme cases, entire harvests may be lost in some geographic areas. Citrus groves are subject to damage from frost and freezes, and this has happened periodically in the recent past, including most recently the impact from Hurricane Irma. In some cases, the fruit is damaged or ruined; in the case of extended periods of cold, the trees can also be damaged or killed. These factors can increase costs, decrease revenues and lead to additional charges to earnings, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Our citrus groves are subject to damage and loss from disease including but not limited to citrus greening and citrus canker which could negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our citrus groves are subject to damage and loss from diseases such as citrus greening and citrus canker. Each of these diseases is widespread in Florida and exists in our citrus groves and in the areas where our citrus groves are located. The success of our citrus business is directly related to the viability and health of our citrus groves.

Citrus greening is one of the most serious citrus plant diseases in the world. Once a tree is infected, its productivity generally decreases. While the disease poses no threat to humans or animals, it has devastated citrus crops throughout the United States and abroad. Named for its green, misshapen fruit, citrus greening disease has now killed millions of citrus plants in the southeastern United States and has spread across the entire country. Infected trees produce fruits that are green, misshapen and bitter, unsuitable for sale as fresh fruit or for juice. Infected trees can die within a few years. At the present time, there is no known cure for citrus greening once trees have become infected. Primarily, as a result of citrus greening, orange production in the State of Florida has continued to drop. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Florida had its smallest orange harvest in 54 years in the 2017-2018 harvest season. The USDA's forecast of approximately 77,000,000 boxes of oranges for the 2018-2019 season is down more than 48.7% from the approximately 150,000,000 boxes during the 2004-05 season when citrus greening was discovered.

Citrus canker is a disease affecting citrus species and is caused by a bacterium which is spread by contact with infected trees or by windblown transmission. There is no known cure for citrus canker at present although some management practices, including the use of copper-based bactericides, can mitigate its spread and lessen its effect on infected trees; however, there is no assurance that currently available technologies will control such disease effectively.

Both of these diseases pose a significant threat to the Florida citrus industry and to our citrus groves. While we use best management practices to attempt to control diseases and their spread, there can be no assurance that our mitigation efforts will be successful. These diseases can significantly increase our costs which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Our citrus groves produce the significant majority of our annual operating revenues. A significant reduction in available citrus from our citrus groves could decrease our operating revenues and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our citrus groves are geographically concentrated in Florida and the effects of adverse weather conditions including hurricanes and tropical storms could adversely affect our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

Our citrus operations are concentrated in central and south Florida with our groves located in parcels in DeSoto, Polk, Collier, Hendry, Charlotte, Highlands, and Hardee Counties. Because our groves are located in close proximity to each other, the impact of adverse weather conditions may be material to our results of operations, financial position and cash flows. Florida is particularly susceptible to the occurrence of hurricanes and tropical storms. Depending on where any particular hurricane or tropical storm makes landfall, our properties could experience significant, if not catastrophic damage. Hurricanes and tropical storms have the potential to destroy crops and impact citrus production through the loss of fruit and destruction of trees and/or plants either as a result of high winds or through the spread of windblown disease. Such damage could materially affect our citrus operations and could result in a loss of operating revenues from those products for a multi-year period. We seek to minimize hurricane risk by the purchase of insurance contracts, but the majority of our crops remain uninsured. In addition to hurricanes and tropical storms, the occurrence of other natural disasters and climate conditions in Florida, such as tornadoes, floods, freezes, unusually heavy or prolonged rain, droughts and heat waves, could have a material adverse effect on our operations and our ability to realize income from our crops or properties.

During September 2017, we experienced significant fruit loss as a result of Hurricane Irma, which negatively impacted both the Company's revenues and earnings for fiscal year 2018, and will most likely negatively impact the Company's revenues and earnings, to a lesser degree, for fiscal year 2019.

A significant portion of our revenues are derived from our citrus business and any adverse event affecting such business could disproportionately harm our business.

Our revenues from our citrus business were approximately 96.1%, 95.1% and 95.2% of our operating revenues in fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Our citrus division is one of the largest citrus producers in the United States and because of the significance of the revenues derived from this business, we are more vulnerable to adverse events or market conditions affecting our citrus business which could have a significant impact on our overall results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We depend on our relationship with Tropicana for a significant portion of our business. Any disruption in this relationship could harm our sales. Additionally, if certain criteria are not met under one of our contracts with Tropicana, we could experience a significant reduction in revenues and cash flows.

The Company's contracts with Tropicana accounted for 86.6%, 85.6% and 32.5% of the Company's revenues in fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The revenue for Tropicana is generated among several contracts. Should there be any change in our current relationship structure, whereby they do not buy our oranges, we would need to find replacement buyers to purchase our remaining crop, which could take time and expense and may result in less favorable terms of sale. The loss of Tropicana as a customer or significant reduction in business with Tropicana may cause a material adverse impact to our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Our agricultural products are subject to supply and demand pricing which is not predictable.

Agricultural operations traditionally provide almost all of our operating revenues with citrus being the largest portion and are subject to supply and demand pricing. While according to Nielsen data consumer demand for orange juice has decreased significantly to its lowest level in almost a decade, we have been able to offset the impact of such decline with higher prices based on a lower supply of available oranges. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to do so if demand continues to decline. Although our processed citrus is subject to minimum pricing, we are unable to predict with certainty the final price we will receive for our products. In some instances the harvest and growth cycle will dictate when such products must be marketed which may or may not be advantageous in obtaining the best price. Excessive supplies tend to cause severe price competition and lower prices for the commodity affected. Limited supply of certain agricultural commodities due to world and domestic market conditions can cause commodity prices to rise in certain situations. We attempt to mitigate these risks by using contracts with citrus processors that include pricing structures based on a minimum (“floor”) price and with a price increase (“rise”) if market prices exceed the floor price.

There is no assurance that Alico 2.0 will provide the cost savings that we expect, or that we will fully realize the benefits we expect from the program.

On November 16, 2017, we announced Alico 2.0, which we expect will result in a significant citrus grove cost savings and a decline in Alico Citrus’ general and administrative expenses. There is no assurance that our Alico 2.0 will provide the cost savings that we expect, or that we will fully realize the benefits we expect from the program.

If we are unable to successfully develop and execute our strategic growth initiatives, or if they do not adequately address the challenges or opportunities we face, our business, financial condition and prospects may be adversely affected.

Our success is dependent, in part, on our ability to identify, develop and execute appropriate strategic growth initiatives that will enable us to achieve sustainable growth in the long term. The implementation of our strategic initiatives is subject to both the risks affecting our business generally and the inherent risks associated with implementing new strategies. These strategic initiatives may not be successful in generating revenues or improving operating profit and, if they are, it may take longer than anticipated. As a result and depending on evolving conditions and opportunities, we may need to adjust our strategic initiatives and such changes could be substantial, including modifying or terminating one or more of such initiatives. Termination of such initiatives may require us to write down or write off the value of our investments in them. Transition and changes in our strategic initiatives may also create uncertainty in our employees, customers and partners that could adversely affect our business and revenues. In addition, we may incur higher than expected or unanticipated costs in implementing our strategic initiatives, attempting to attract revenue opportunities or changing our strategies. There is no assurance that the implementation of any strategic growth initiative will be successful, and we may not realize anticipated benefits at levels we project or at all, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and prospects.

We are subject to the risk of product contamination and product liability claims.

The sale of agricultural products for human consumption involves the risk of injury to consumers. Such injuries may result from tampering by unauthorized third parties, product contamination or spoilage, including the presence of foreign objects, substances, chemicals, other agents, or residues introduced during the growing, storage, handling or transportation phases. While we are subject to governmental inspection and regulations and believe our facilities comply in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, we cannot be sure that our agricultural products will not cause a health-related illness in the future or that we will not be subject to claims or lawsuits relating to such matters. Even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that our products caused illness or injury could adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers and our corporate and brand image. Moreover, claims or liabilities of this sort might not be covered by our insurance or by any rights of indemnity or contribution that we may have against others. We maintain product liability insurance, however, we cannot be sure that we will not incur claims or liabilities for which we are not insured or that exceed the amount of our insurance coverage.

Our agricultural operations are subject to water use regulations restricting our access to water.

Our operations are dependent upon the availability of adequate surface and underground water. The availability of water is regulated by the state of Florida through water management districts which have jurisdiction over various geographic regions in which our lands are located. Currently, we have permits in place for the next 15 to 20 years for the use of underground and surface water which are adequate for our agricultural needs.

Surface water in Hendry County, where much of our agricultural land is located, comes from Lake Okeechobee via the Caloosahatchee River and a system of canals used to irrigate such land. The Army Corps of Engineers controls the level of Lake Okeechobee and ultimately determines the availability of surface water even though the use of water has been permitted by the state of Florida through the water management district. The Army Corps of Engineers decided in 2010 to lower the permissible level of Lake Okeechobee in response to concerns about the ability of the levee surrounding the lake to restrain rising waters which could result from hurricanes. Changes in availability of surface water use may result during times of drought, because of lower lake levels and could materially adversely affect our agricultural operations, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Changes in immigration laws could impact our ability to harvest our crops.

We engage third parties to provide personnel for our harvesting operations. The availability and number of such workers is subject to decrease if there are changes in the U.S. immigration laws. Immigration reform and enforcement is currently attracting significant attention in the current U.S. administration and U.S. Congress, with enforcement operations taking place across the country, resulting in arrests and detentions of unauthorized workers. If new immigration legislation is enacted in the U.S. and/or if enforcement actions are taken against available personnel, such legislation and/or enforcement activities may contain provisions that could significantly reduce the number and availability of workers. Termination of a significant number of personnel who are found to be unauthorized workers or the scarcity of other available personnel to harvest our agricultural products could cause harvesting costs to increase or could lead to the loss of product that is not timely harvested which could have a material adverse effect to our citrus grove business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our acquisition of additional agricultural assets and other businesses could pose risks.

We seek to opportunistically acquire new agricultural assets from time to time that we believe would complement our business. For example, in fiscal year 2015 we acquired three Florida citrus properties, including Orange-Co and Silver Nip Citrus, which resulted in our citrus division being one of the largest citrus producers in the United States. While we expect that our past and future acquisitions will successfully complement our business, we may fail to realize all of the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions, which could reduce our anticipated results. We cannot assure that we will be able to successfully identify suitable acquisition opportunities, negotiate appropriate acquisition terms, or obtain any financing that may be needed to consummate such acquisitions or complete proposed acquisitions. Acquisitions by us could result in accounting changes, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, increased debt and contingent liabilities, reduce the amount of cash available for dividends, debt service payments, integration issues and diversion of management’s attention, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. We may be unable to successfully realize the financial, operational, and other benefits we anticipate from our acquisitions and our failure to do so could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Dispositions of our assets may adversely affect our future results of operations.

We also routinely evaluate the benefits of disposing of certain of our assets which could include the exit from lines of business. For example, in November of 2014 we sold significant sugarcane assets and we are no longer involved in the sugarcane business and in January of 2018 we sold our breeding herd and no longer engage in cattle operations. While such dispositions increase the amount of cash available to us, it could also result in a potential loss of significant operating revenues and income streams that we might not be able to replace, makes our business less diversified and could ultimately have a negative impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

If a transaction intended to qualify as a Section 1031 Exchange is later determined to be taxable, we may face adverse consequences, and if the laws applicable to such transactions are amended or repealed, we may not be able to dispose of properties on a tax deferred basis.

From time to time we dispose of properties in transactions that are intended to qualify as Section 1031 Exchanges. It is possible that the qualification of a transaction as a Section 1031 Exchange could be successfully challenged and determined to be currently taxable and we could also be required to pay interest and penalties. As a result, we may be required to borrow funds in order to pay additional income taxes, and the payment of such taxes could cause us to have less cash available. Moreover, it is possible that legislation could be enacted that could modify or repeal the laws with respect to Section 1031 Exchanges, which could make it more difficult or not possible for us to dispose of properties on a tax deferred basis.

We may undertake one or more significant corporate transactions that may not achieve their intended results, may adversely affect our financial condition and our results of operations or result in unforeseeable risks to our business.

We continuously evaluate the acquisition or disposition of operating businesses and assets and may in the future undertake one or more significant transactions. Any such acquisitive transaction could be material to our business and could take any number of forms, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and the purchase of equity interests. The consideration for such acquisitive transactions may include, among other things, cash, common stock or equity interests in the Company or our subsidiaries, or a contribution of property or equipment to obtain equity interests, and in conjunction with a transaction we might incur additional indebtedness. We also routinely evaluate the benefits of disposing of certain assets. Such dispositions could take the form of asset sales, mergers or sales of equity interests.

These transactions may present significant risks such as insufficient assets to offset liabilities assumed, potential loss of significant operating revenues and income streams, increased or unexpected expenses, inadequate return of capital, regulatory or compliance issues, the triggering of certain financial covenants in our debt instruments (including accelerated repayment) and unidentified issues not discovered in due diligence. In addition, such transactions could distract management from current operations. As a result of the risks inherent in such transactions, we cannot guarantee that any such transaction will ultimately result in the realization of its anticipated benefits or that it will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. If we were to complete such an acquisition, disposition, investment or other strategic transaction, we may require additional debt or equity financing that could result in a significant increase in our amount of debt and our debt service obligations or the number of outstanding shares of our common stock, thereby diluting holders of our common stock outstanding prior to such acquisition.

Our citrus business is seasonal.

Our citrus groves produce the majority of our annual operating revenues and the citrus business is seasonal because it is tied to the growing and picking seasons. Historically, the second and third quarters of our fiscal year generally produce the majority of our annual revenues, and our working capital requirements are typically greater in the first and fourth quarters of our fiscal year coinciding with our planting cycles. Because of the seasonality of our business, results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for the full fiscal year or in future quarters. If our operating revenues in the second and third quarters are lower than expected, it would have a disproportionately large adverse impact on our annual operating results.

We face significant competition in our agricultural operations.

We face significant competition in our agricultural operations both from domestic and foreign producers and do not have any branded products. Foreign growers generally have an equal or lower cost of production, less environmental regulation and in some instances, greater resources and market flexibility than us. Because foreign growers have greater flexibility as to when they enter the U.S. market, we cannot always predict the impact these competitors will have on our business and results of operations. The competition we face from foreign suppliers of orange juice is mitigated by a governmentally imposed tariff on orange imports. Accordingly, a reduction in the government’s orange juice tariff could adversely impact our results of operations.

Climate change, or legal, regulatory, or market measures to address climate change, may negatively affect our business and operations.

There is growing concern that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns, and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disasters. In the event that such climate change has a negative effect on the productivity of our citrus groves, it could have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations. The increasing concern over climate change also may result in more regional, federal, and/or global legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases. In the event that such regulation is enacted, we may experience significant increases in our costs of operations. In particular, increasing regulation of fuel emissions could substantially increase the distribution and supply chain costs associated with our products. As a result, climate change could negatively affect our business and operations.

Increases in labor, personnel and benefits costs could adversely affect our operating results.

We primarily utilize labor contractors to harvest and deliver our fruit to outside packing facilities. Our employees and contractors are in demand by other agribusinesses and other industries. Shortages of labor, particularly as a result of the recent low unemployment rate in the United States and in Florida in particular, could delay our harvesting or orange processing activities or could result in increases in labor costs.

We and our labor contractors are subject to government mandated wage and benefit laws and regulations. In addition, current or future federal or state healthcare legislation and regulation, including the Affordable Care Act, may increase our medical costs or the medical costs of our labor contractors that could be passed on to us.

We benefit from reduced real estate taxes due to the agricultural classification of a majority of our land. Changes in the classification or valuation methods employed by county property appraisers could cause significant changes in our real estate property tax liabilities.

In the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016 we paid approximately $3,089,000, $3,106,000 and $3,196,000, respectively, in real estate taxes, respectively. These taxes were based upon the agricultural use (“Green Belt”) values determined by the county property appraisers in which counties we own land, of approximately $104,017,000, $105,496,000 and $89,922,000 for each of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016 respectively, which differs significantly from the fair values determined by the county property appraisers of approximately $537,183,000, $539,790,000 and $533,617,000, respectively. Changes in state law or county policy regarding the granting of agricultural classification or calculation of "Green Belt" values or average millage rates could significantly impact our results of operations, cash flows and/or financial position.

Liability for the use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other potentially hazardous substances could increase our costs.

Our agricultural business involves the use of herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides, some of which may be considered hazardous or toxic substances. We may be deemed liable and have to pay for the costs or damages associated with the improper application, accidental release or the use or misuse of such substances. Our insurance may not be adequate to cover such costs or damages, or may not continue to be available at a price or under terms that are satisfactory to us. In such cases, if we are required to pay

significant costs or damages, it could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Compliance with applicable environmental laws may substantially increase our costs of doing business which could reduce our profits.

We are subject to various laws and regulations relating to the operation of our properties, which are administered by numerous federal, state and local governmental agencies. We face a potential for environmental liability by virtue of our ownership of real estate property. If hazardous substances (including herbicides and pesticides used by us or by any persons leasing our lands) are discovered emanating from any of our lands and the release of such substances presents a threat of harm to the public health or the environment, we may be held strictly liable for the cost of remediation of these hazardous substances. In addition, environmental laws that apply to a given site can vary greatly according to the site’s location, its present and former uses, and other factors such as the presence of wetlands or endangered species on the site. Management monitors environmental legislation and requirements and makes every effort to remain in compliance with such regulations. Furthermore, we require lessees of our properties to comply with environmental regulations as a condition of leasing. We also purchase insurance for environmental liability when it is available; however, these insurance contracts may not be adequate to cover such costs or damages or may not continue to be available at prices and terms that would be satisfactory. It is possible that in some cases the cost of compliance with these environmental laws could exceed the value of a particular tract of land, make it unsuitable for use in what would otherwise be its highest and best use, and/or be significant enough that it would materially adversely affect us.

Our business may be adversely affected if we lose key employees.

We depend to a large extent on the services of certain key management personnel. These individuals have extensive experience and expertise in the business lines and segments in which they work. The loss of any of these individuals could have a material adverse effect on our businesses. We do not maintain key-man life insurance with respect to any of our employees. Our success will be dependent on our ability to continue to attract, employ and retain skilled personnel in our business lines and segments.

Inflation can have a significant adverse effect on our operations.

Inflation can have a major impact on our citrus operations. The citrus operations are most affected by escalating costs and unpredictable revenues and very high irrigation water costs. High fixed water costs related to our citrus lands will continue to adversely affect earnings. Prices received for many of our products are dependent upon prevailing market conditions and commodity prices. Therefore, it is difficult for us to accurately predict revenue, just as we cannot pass on cost increases caused by general inflation, except to the extent reflected in market conditions and commodity prices.

We incur increased costs as a result of being a publicly traded company.

As a company with publicly traded securities, we have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant legal, accounting and other expenses. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, as well as rules promulgated by the SEC and Nasdaq, requires us to adopt corporate governance practices applicable to U.S. public companies. These laws, rules and regulations may increase our legal and financial compliance costs, which could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

System security risks, data protection breaches, cyber-attacks and systems integration issues could disrupt our internal operations or services provided to customers, and any such disruption could reduce our expected revenues, increase our expenses, damage our reputation and adversely affect our stock price.

Computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate or compromise our confidential information or that of third parties, create system disruptions or cause shutdowns. Computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs that attack our systems and databases or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities of our systems and databases. In addition, sophisticated hardware and operating system software and applications that we develop internally or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including “bugs” and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of the system. The costs to us to eliminate or alleviate cyber or other security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and our efforts to address these problems may not be successful and could result in interruptions, delays, cessation of service and loss of existing or potential customers that may impede our sales, distribution or other critical functions.

Portions of our Information Technology infrastructure also may experience interruptions, delays or cessations of service or produce errors in connection with systems integration or migration work that takes place from time to time. We may not be successful in implementing new systems and transitioning data, which could cause business disruptions and be more expensive, time consuming, disruptive and resource-intensive. Such disruptions could adversely impact our ability to track sales and could interrupt other operational or financial processes, which in turn could adversely affect our financial results, stock price and reputation.

Risks Related to Our Indebtedness

We maintain a significant amount of indebtedness which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows and may limit our operational and financing flexibility and negatively impact our business.

As of September 30, 2018 we had approximately $177,000,000 in principal amount of indebtedness outstanding under our secured credit facilities and line of credit and an additional $82,000,000 is available under our revolving lines of credit. Our loan agreements, and other debt instruments we may enter into in the future, may have negative consequences to us and could limit our business because we will use a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to pay debt service costs which will reduce the funds available to us for corporate and general expenses and it may make us more vulnerable to economic downturns and adverse developments in our business. Our loan agreements require us to comply with various restrictive covenants and some contain financial covenants that require us to comply with specified financial ratios and tests. Our failure to meet these covenants could result in default under these loan agreements and would result in a cross-default under other loan agreements. In the event of a default and our inability to obtain a waiver of the default, all amounts outstanding under loan agreements could be declared immediately due and payable. Our loan agreements also contain various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. We expect that we will depend primarily upon our citrus operations to provide funds to pay our corporate and general expenses and to pay any amounts that may become due under any credit facilities and any other indebtedness we may incur. In addition, there are factors beyond our control that could negatively affect our citrus business revenue stream. Our ability to make these payments depends on our future performance, which will be affected by various financial, business, macroeconomic and other factors, many of which we cannot control.

Some of our debt is based on variable rates of interest, which could result in higher interest expenses in the event of an increase in the interest rates.

Our credit facility and certain of our term loans that we have currently bear interest at variable rates, which will generally change as interest rates change. We bear the risk that the rates we are charged by our lenders will increase faster than the earnings and cash flow of our business, which could reduce profitability, adversely affect our ability to service our debt, cause us to breach covenants contained in our credit facility and term loans, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Related to our Common Stock

Our largest stockholder has the ability to exert significant influence over our business and its interests may conflict with or differ from the interests of our other stockholders.

As of December 3, 2018, 734 Investors, LLC (“734 Investors”) beneficially owns approximately 43.0% of our outstanding common stock. Accordingly, 734 Investors has the ability to exert significant influence over our business and may make decisions with which other stockholders may disagree, including, among other things, delaying or discouraging a change of control of our Company or a potential merger, consolidation, tender offer, takeover or other business combination.

We have been advised that, on November 19, 2018, the members of 734 Investors passed a resolution by written consent to remove 734 Agriculture, LLC (“734 Agriculture”) as managing member of 734 Investors, and to designate Arlon Valencia Holdings, LLC as the new managing member of 734 Investors (the "734 Consent"). On November 20, 2018, 734 Agriculture filed a lawsuit contesting the 734 Consent in the Delaware Court of Chancery (the "Delaware Court"), captioned 734 Agriculture v. Arlon Valencia Holdings, LLC, C.A. No. 2018-0844-JTL.

On December 5, 2018, the Delaware Court entered a stipulated status quo order which provides, among other things, that 734 Agriculture shall serve as the managing member of 734 Investors during the pendency of the Delaware Litigation (as defined below). The status quo order also provides that 734 Agriculture shall not take any actions outside of the ordinary course of business of 734 Investors without the consent of two-thirds of the membership interests of 734 Investors, including exercising any voting rights with respect to any shares of the Company’s common stock beneficially owned by 734 Investors.

Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, we cannot predict the outcome of this litigation at this time, and we can give no assurance that this litigation will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations. For more information regarding legal proceedings, see Item 3, “Legal Proceedings.”

The interests of 734 Investors could conflict with or differ from the interests of our other stockholders. Additionally, potential conflicts of interest could exist if we enter into any related party transactions with 734 Investors.

Although we are no longer a “Controlled Company” under Nasdaq Listing Rules, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements during a limited transition period.

As of November 19, 2018, we no longer qualify as a “Controlled Company” under Nasdaq listing rules. Although we currently comply with certain of the Nasdaq listing rules applicable to companies that are not Controlled Companies, there are certain exemptions for Controlled Companies that we no longer benefit from, including that the Nasdaq listing rules require that each of the compensation and nominating and governance committees be composed of at least a majority of independent directors within 90 days of the date on which we no longer qualified as a “Controlled Company” and that each such committee be composed entirely of independent directors within one year of such date. During these transition periods, we will continue to qualify for and may continue to utilize the available exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements as permitted by the Nasdaq listing rules. Accordingly, during these transition periods, you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements in the Nasdaq listing rules, which could make our common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price.

Sales of substantial amounts of our outstanding common stock by our largest stockholder could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our largest stockholder, 734 Investors, beneficially owns approximately 43.0% of our outstanding common stock as of December 3, 2018. Our common stock is thinly traded and our common stock prices can fluctuate significantly. As such, sales of substantial amounts of our common stock into the public market by 734 Investors or perceptions that significant sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our common stock has low trading volume.

Although our common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Market, it is thinly traded and our average daily trading volume is low compared to the number of shares of common stock we have outstanding. The low trading volume of our common stock can cause our stock price to fluctuate significantly as well as make it difficult for a stockholder to sell their common shares quickly. As a result of our stock being thinly traded and/or our low stock price, institutional investors might not be interested in owning our common stock.

We may not be able to continue to pay or maintain our cash dividends on our common stock and the failure to do so may negatively affect our share price.

We have historically paid regular quarterly dividends to the holders of our common stock. Our ability to pay cash dividends depends on, among other things, our cash flows from operations, our cash requirements, our financial condition, the degree to which we are/or become leveraged, contractual restrictions binding on us, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. There can be no assurance that we will generate sufficient cash from continuing operations in the future, or have sufficient cash surplus or net profits to pay dividends on our common stock. Our dividend policy is based upon our directors’ current assessment of our business and the environment in which we operate and that assessment could change based on business developments (which could, for example, increase our need for capital expenditures) or new growth opportunities. Our Board of Directors may, in its discretion, decrease the level of cash dividends or entirely discontinue the payment of cash dividends. The reduction or elimination of cash dividends may negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

There can be no assurance that we will resume the repurchase of shares of our common stock.

In fiscal year 2017, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $7,000,000 of the Company’s common stock in two separate authorizations. In March 2017, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $5,000,000 of the Company’s common stock beginning March 9, 2017 and continuing through March 9, 2019. In May 2017, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $2,000,000 of the Company’s common stock beginning May 24, 2017 and continuing through May 24, 2019. Our share repurchase program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific number of shares and may be suspended from time to time or terminated at any time prior to its expiration. As of June 29, 2018 the Company suspended its stock repurchase activity; however if the Company chooses to resume repurchasing stock it has $1,676,443 available to repurchase

stock under the 2017 Authorization. There can be no assurance that we will repurchase shares in the future in any particular amounts or at all. A reduction in, or elimination of, share repurchases could have a negative effect on our share price.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

As of September 30, 2018, Alico owned approximately 117,000 acres of land located in eight counties in Florida. Acreage in each county and the primary classification with respect to the present use of these properties is shown in the following table:



	Total	Hendry	Polk	Collier	DeSoto	Glades	Charlotte	Hardee	Highlands
Alico Citrus:
Citrus Groves	44,983	5,485	6,805	7,166	21,186	—	2,543	574	1,224
Citrus Nursery	22	—	—	—	22	—	—	—	—
Total Citrus Groves	45,005	5,485	6,805	7,166	21,208	—	2,543	574	1,224

Water Resources and Other Operations	70,322	66,300	—	4,022	—	—	—	—	—
Mining	526	—	—	—	—	526	—	—	—
Other	908	908	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total	116,761	72,693	6,805	11,188	21,208	526	2,543	574	1,224

Approximately 60,000 acres of the properties listed are encumbered by credit agreements totaling approximately $177,000,000 as of September 30, 2018. For a more detailed description of the credit agreements and collateral please see Note 6. “Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit” to the Company’s fiscal year 2018 consolidated financial statements.

The Company currently collects mining royalties on approximately 526 acres of land located in Glades County, Florida. These royalties do not represent a significant portion of operating revenues or gross profits.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Florida Litigation

On November 16, 2018, 734 Agriculture, RCF 2014 Legacy LLC, Delta Offshore Master II, LTD. and Mr. Remy W. Trafelet, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, filed a lawsuit against Messrs. George R. Brokaw, Henry R. Slack, W. Andrew Krusen and Greg Eisner, members of the Board of Directors, in the Circuit Court (the “Circuit Court”) for Hillsborough County, Florida (the “Florida Litigation”). The plaintiffs in the Florida Litigation seek, among other things, a declaration that (1) a purported stockholder action by written consent, delivered to the Company in the name of 734 Investors and the plaintiffs in the Florida Litigation on November 11, 2018 (the “Purported Consent”) is valid and binding, (2) the resolutions passed at a meeting of the Board of Directors on November 12, 2018, to, among other things, constitute an ad hoc committee of the Board of Directors to consider, evaluate and make any and all determinations, and to take any and all actions, on behalf of the Board of Directors, in connection with the Purported Consent are null and void and (3) the four defendants in the Florida Litigation were properly removed from the Board of Directors by the Purported Consent. On November 27, 2018, the Circuit Court denied without prejudice plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order and affirmative injunction restoring Mr. Remy W. Trafelet from administrative leave to active status in his capacity as President and CEO of the Company.

On November 28, 2018, the parties in the Florida Litigation stipulated to an order which provides, pending the resolution of the Delaware Litigation (as defined below), that (1) the record date for the Purported Consent is stayed indefinitely, and (2) Mr. Trafelet and the Company’s Board of Directors shall not take any action out of routine day-to-day operations conducted in the ordinary course of business, including any action to change the corporate governance of Alico or removing any corporate officers or directors from positions held as of November 27, 2018.

Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, we cannot predict the outcome of the Florida Litigation at this time, and we can give no assurance that the Florida Litigation will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.

Delaware Litigation

On November 20, 2018, members of 734 Investors filed a lawsuit against 734 Agriculture and Mr. Remy W. Trafelet, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors in the Delaware Court of Chancery (the "Delaware Court"), captioned Arlon Valencia Holdings v. Trafelet, C.A. No. 2018-0842-JTL (the “Members’ Delaware Litigation”). The plaintiffs seek, among other things, a declaration that (1) 734 Agriculture was validly replaced as the managing member of 734 Investors pursuant to the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Operating Agreement of 734 Investors (the “LLC Agreement”) and the 734 Consent (described above), and (2) the Purported Consent is invalid under the LLC Agreement.

Also on November 20, 2018, 734 Agriculture filed a lawsuit contesting the 734 Consent in the Delaware Court, captioned 734 Agriculture v. Arlon Valencia Holdings, LLC, C.A. No. 2018-0844-JTL (the “734 Delaware Litigation”). On November 27, 2018, the Delaware Court entered a stipulated order consolidating the Members’ Delaware Litigation and the 734 Delaware Litigation into a single lawsuit, captioned In re 734 Investors, LLC Litigation, Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0844-JTL (the consolidated suit, the “Delaware Litigation”).

On December 5, 2018, the Delaware Court entered a stipulated status quo order which provides, among other things, that 734 Agriculture shall serve as the managing member of 734 Investors during the pendency of the Delaware Litigation. The status quo order also provides that 734 Agriculture shall not take any actions outside of the ordinary course of business of 734 Investors without the consent of two-thirds of the membership interests of 734 Investors, including exercising any voting rights with respect to any shares of the Company’s common stock beneficially owned by 734 Investors.

Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, we cannot predict the outcome of the Delaware Litigation at this time, and we can give no assurance that Delaware Litigation will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.

From time to time, Alico may be involved in litigation relating to claims arising out of its operations in the normal course of business. There are no current legal proceedings to which the Company is a party to or of which any of its property is subject to that it believes will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not Applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Common Stock

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol ALCO.

Holders

On December 3, 2018 our stock transfer records indicated there were 202 holders of record of our common stock. The number of registered holders includes banks and brokers who act as nominee, each of whom may represent more than one stockholder.

Dividend Policy

The declaration and amount of any actual cash dividend are in the sole discretion of our Board of Directors and are subject to numerous factors that ordinarily affect dividend policy, including the results of our operations and financial position, as well as general economic and business conditions.

The following table presents cash dividends per share of our common stock declared in fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016:



Declaration Date	Record Date	Payment Date	Per Common Share
December 11, 2015	December 31, 2015	January 15, 2016	$0.06
March 8, 2016	March 31, 2016	April 15, 2016	$0.06
May 11, 2016	June 30, 2016	July 15, 2016	$0.06
September 6, 2016	September 30, 2016	October 14, 2016	$0.06
November 30, 2016	December 30, 2016	January 16, 2017	$0.06
February 23, 2017	March 31, 2017	April 14, 2017	$0.06
May 23, 2017	June 30, 2017	July 15, 2017	$0.06
September 15, 2017	September 29, 2017	October 16, 2017	$0.06
November 6, 2017	December 29, 2017	January 16, 2018	$0.06
March 14, 2018	March 30, 2018	April 13, 2018	$0.06
June 11, 2018	June 29, 2018	July 13, 2018	$0.06
September 4, 2018	September 28, 2018	October 12, 2018	$0.06

Stock Performance Graph

The graph below represents our common stock performance, comparing the value of $100 invested on September 30, 2013 in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index, the S&P Agricultural Products Index and a Company-constructed peer group, which includes Forestar Group, Inc., Limoneira Company, The St. Joe Company, Tejon Ranch Co. and Texas Pacific Land Trust.



		INDEXED RETURNS
	Base Period Sept 13
		Years Ending
Company Name / Index		Sept 14	Sept 15	Sept 16	Sept 17	Sept 18
Alico, Inc.	100	93.42	100.04	66.73	85.53	85.33
S&P 500 Index	100	119.73	119.00	137.36	162.92	192.10
S&P Agricultural Products Index	100	132.51	113.95	131.39	134.56	151.60
Peer Group	100	117.68	96.58	115.42	155.67	261.70

(Includes reinvestment of dividends)

Equity Compensation Arrangements

Effective January 27, 2015, the Board of Directors adopted the 2015 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2015 Plan”) which provides for up to 1,250,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to be available for issuance to provide a long-term incentive plan for officers, employees, directors and/or consultants to directly link incentives to stockholders' value. The 2015 Plan was approved by stockholders in February 2015. The adoption of the 2015 Plan supersedes the 2013 Incentive Equity Plan, which had been in place since April 2013.

The following table illustrates the common shares remaining available for future issuance under the 2015 Plan:



	Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights	Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights		Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity plans
Plan Category:
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders	675,000	$	30.02	557,500
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders	—	N/A		—
Total	675,000	$	30.02	557,500

In November 2017, the Company awarded 5,000 restricted shares to one senior executive under the 2015 Plan.

In September 2018, the Company awarded 300,000 stock options to two senior executives under the 2015 Plan. Additionally, in September 2018, two other senior executives forfeited an aggregate of 375,000 stock options, which were originally issued under the 2015 Plan and no replacement options were granted.

In October 2018, the Company awarded 10,000 stock options to one senior executive under the 2015 Plan.

Recent Sale of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Repurchases of Equity Securities

In fiscal year 2017, Alico's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $7,000,000 of the Company’s common stock in two separate authorizations (the "2017 Authorization"). In March 2017, Alico's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $5,000,000 of the Company’s common stock beginning March 9, 2017 and continuing through March 9, 2019. In May 2017, Alico's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $2,000,000 of the Company’s common stock beginning May 24, 2017 and continuing through May 24, 2019. Alico's share repurchase program does not obligate the Company to repurchase any specific number of shares and may be suspended from time to time or terminated at any time prior to its expiration. There can be no assurance that the Company will repurchase shares in the future in any particular amounts or at all. A reduction in, or elimination of, share repurchases could have a negative effect on the Company's share price.

In fiscal year 2016, Alico's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 50,000 shares of the Company’s outstanding common stock beginning February 18, 2016 and continuing through February 17, 2017 (the "2016 Authorization"). For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Company did not purchase any shares in accordance with the 2016 Authorization.

We adopted Rule 10b5-1 share repurchase plan under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Plan”) in connection with share repurchase authorizations. The Plan allows us to repurchase our shares of common stock at times when it otherwise might be prevented from doing so under insider trading laws or because of self-imposed trading blackout periods. Because repurchases under the Plan are subject to certain pricing parameters, there is no guarantee as to the exact number of common shares that will be repurchased under the Plan or that there will be any repurchases pursuant to the Plan. Subject to applicable regulations, we may elect to amend or cancel the Plan at our discretion.

The following table summarizes our purchases of our common stock by month for the 4^th quarter in fiscal year 2018 under the 2017 Authorization:



	Total Number of Shares Purchased	Average Price Paid Per Share		Total Shares Purchased As Part of Publicly Announced Plan or Program	Maximum Number of Shares (or approximate dollar value) that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plan or Program
Date (month ended):
July 31, 2018	—	$	—	—	$1,676,443
August 31, 2018	—	$	—	—	$1,676,443
September 30, 2018	—	$	—	—	$1,676,443

The Company purchased 72,266 shares of common stock in the open market in fiscal year 2018 under the 2017 Authorization at a weighted average price of $31.27 per common share.

As of June 29, 2018 the Company suspended its stock repurchase activity; however if the Company chooses to resume repurchasing stock it has $1,676,443 available to repurchase stock under the 2017 Authorization.

On September 5, 2018, the Board of Directors approved and Alico announced the commencement of an issuer offer (the “Tender Offer”) to purchase up to $19,999,990 in value of shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $34.00 per share. On October 3, 2018, Alico repurchased an aggregate of 752,234 shares at a price of $34.00 per share aggregating $25,575,956. These shares represented approximately 9.2% of the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding as of October 2, 2018. Included in the 752,234 shares were 163,999 shares that the Company has elected to purchase pursuant to its right to purchase up to an additional 2% of its outstanding shares of common stock. 734 Investors, Alico’s largest stockholder since 2013, participated in the Tender Offer and sold a small percentage of its holdings.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The following tables present selected historical consolidated financial information as of and for each of the fiscal years in the five-year period ended September 30, 2018. The Consolidated Financial Statements as of and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 include combined financial statement balances with Silver Nip Citrus, as result of our common control acquisition in February 2015.

The selected historical financial data presented below should be reviewed in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes thereto, included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.



(in thousands, except per share amounts)
	September 30,
	2018		2017			2016		2015		2014
Selected Statement of Operations Information:
Operating revenues	$	81,281	$	129,829		$	144,196	$	153,126	$	104,003
Income (loss) from operations	$	10,535	$	(6,094	)	$	21,846	$	18,964	$	9,383
Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders	$	13,050	$	(9,451	)	$	6,993	$	13,214	$	9,495
Basic earnings (loss) per common share	$	1.59	$	(1.14	)	$	0.84	$	1.64	$	1.29
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share	$	1.57	$	(1.14	)	$	0.84	$	1.64	$	1.29
Cash dividends declared per common share	$	0.24	$	0.24		$	0.24	$	0.24	$	0.24

Selected Balance Sheet Information:
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	32,260	$	3,395		$	6,625	$	5,474	$	31,130
Property and equipment, net	$	340,403	$	349,337		$	379,247	$	381,099	$	142,610
Total assets	$	423,422	$	419,182		$	455,445	$	460,088	$	273,613
Current portion of long-term debt	$	5,275	$	4,550		$	4,493	$	4,511	$	3,581
Long-term debt, net of current portion	$	169,074	$	181,926		$	192,726	$	200,970	$	58,444
Total Alico, Inc. stockholders' equity	$	172,117	$	160,641		$	173,490	$	170,704	$	162,487
Noncontrolling interest	$	5,478	$	4,728		$	4,773	$	4,807	$	—

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014, net income includes the gain on sale of assets of approximately $7,748,000 related primarily to the Polk and Martin County land sales and a gain on settlement of contingent consideration of $6,000,000.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2015, net income includes the gain on sale of assets of approximately $13,590,000 related to the sale of real estate, approximately $8,366,000 of interest expense, approximately $1,051,000 loss on extinguishment of debt related to the refinancing of our debt obligations, approximately $1,145,000 gain on bargain purchase related to acquisition of citrus business and an impairment charge of approximately $541,000 on an asset held for sale.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016, net income includes the gain on sale of assets of approximately $618,000 related to the sale of real estate and approximately $9,893,000 of interest expense.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, net loss includes inventory casualty loss and net realizable adjustment of approximately $14,688,000 as a result of Hurricane Irma, additional asset impairments of long-lived assets of approximately $9,346,000, and interest expense of approximately $9,141,000. The net loss was partially offset by a gain on sale of assets of approximately $2,181,000.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018, net income includes the gain on sale of assets of approximately $11,041,000 related to the sale of real estate, property and equipment and assets held for sale. Net income also includes insurance proceeds received in the amount of approximately $9,429,000 relating to damages from Hurricane Irma. Additionally, net income includes the offsetting effect of approximately $8,561,000 of interest expense and $3,349,000 of impairments relating to net realizable adjustment on inventory and long-lived assets.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes thereto.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

We provide forward-looking information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis and Results of Operations, pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Any statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Alico’s current expectations about future events and can be identified by terms such as “plans,” “expect,” “may,” "anticipate,” “intend,” “should be,” “will be” “is likely to,” “believes,” and similar expressions referring to future periods. Alico believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable but cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, Alico cautions you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Factors which may cause future outcomes to differ materially from those foreseen in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: changes in laws, regulation and rules; weather conditions that affect production, transportation, storage, demand, import and export of fresh product and its by-products, increased pressure from diseases including citrus greening and citrus canker, as well as insects and other pests; disruption of water supplies or changes in water allocations; pricing and supply of raw materials and products; market responses to industry volume pressures; pricing and supply of energy; changes in interest rates; availability of financing for land development activities and other growth opportunities; onetime events; acquisitions and divestitures; seasonality; our ability to achieve the anticipated cost savings under the Alico 2.0 Modernization Program; customer concentration; labor disruptions; inability to pay debt obligations; inability to engage in certain transactions due to restrictive covenants in debt instruments; government restrictions on land use; changes in agricultural land values; market and pricing risks due to concentrated ownership of stock; the Company's receipt of future funding from the state of Florida in connection with water retention projects; any Federal relief received in the future by the Company in connection with Hurricane Irma; any reduction in the public float resulting from the Tender Offer or any subsequent repurchases of common stock by the Company; recent changes in the Equity Plan awards to Employees; continuation of the Company's dividend policy; expressed desire of certain of our stockholders to liquidate their shareholdings by virtue of past market sales of common stock by sales of common stock into the Tender Offer or by way of future transactions; decreased cash availability as a result of closing the Tender Offer and effectuating share repurchases; political changes and economic crises; competitive actions by other companies; changes in dividends; increased competition from international companies; changes in environmental regulations and their impact on farming practices; the land ownership policies of governments, changes in government farm programs and policies, international reaction to such programs, changes in pricing calculations with our customers; fluctuations in the value of the U. S. dollar, interest rates, inflation and deflation rates; changes in and effects of crop insurance programs, global trade agreements, trade restrictions and tariffs; and soil conditions, harvest yields, prices for commodities, and crop production expenses. These assumptions are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those Risks Factors included in Part I, Item 1A and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Introduction

Alico, Inc. (“Alico”), together with its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company", "we", "us" or "our”), is a holding company with assets and related operations in agriculture, land management and natural resources. We are a Florida agribusiness and land management company with a legacy of achievement and innovation in citrus, cattle and resource conservation. We own approximately 117,000 acres of land in eight Florida counties which includes approximately 90,000 acres of mineral rights. Our principal lines of business are now citrus groves and water storage and other operations, which include environmental services, land leasing and related support operations. Prior to the sale of our breeding herd in January 2018, the Company’s business line also included cattle ranching. Our mission is to create value for our customers and stockholders by managing existing lands to their optimal current income and total returns. Alico opportunistically acquires new agricultural assets and produces high quality agricultural products while exercising responsible environmental stewardship.

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to help provide an understanding of results of operations, financial condition and changes in financial condition for the periods presented. This MD&A is organized as follows:


•	Business Overview. This section provides a general description of our business, as well as other matters that we believe are important in understanding our results of operations and financial condition.


•	Consolidated Results of Operations. This section provides an analysis of our results of operations for the three fiscal years ended September 30, 2018. Our discussion is presented on a consolidated basis and includes discussion on future trends by segment.


•	Liquidity and Capital Resources. This section provides an analysis of our cash flows for the three fiscal years ended September 30, 2018 and our outstanding debt, commitments and cash resources as of September 30, 2018.

•

Critical Accounting Policies. This section identifies those accounting policies that we consider important to our results of operations and financial condition, require significant judgment and involve significant management estimates. Our significant accounting policies, including those considered to be critical accounting policies, are summarized in Note 2, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," to the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

Business Overview

Business Description

The Company generates operating revenues primarily from the sale of its citrus products. Prior to the sale of its breeding herd in January 2018, the Company also generated revenues from its cattle ranching operations. The Company now operates as two segments and substantially all of its operating revenues are generated in the United States. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018, the Company generated operating revenues of approximately $81,281,000, income from operations of approximately $10,535,000, and net income attributable to common stockholders of approximately $13,050,000. Cash provided by operating activities was approximately $19,055,000 during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018.

Fiscal Year Highlights and Other Developments

Water Storage Contract Approval

In December 2012, the South Florida Water Management District (“SFWMD” or "District") issued a solicitation request for projects to be considered for the Northern Everglades Payment for Environmental Services Program ("Program"). In March 2013, the Company submitted its response proposing a dispersed water management project on a portion of its ranch land. The environmental services dispersed water management project ("Water Project") encompasses a large-scale water storage/nutrient load reduction project over approximately half of the Company's 72,000-acre ranch located in southern Hendry County. The Water Project has the ability to store/treat retain 94,000-acre feet of water, making it one of the largest private storage projects proposed to date and the largest within the Caloosahatchee River watershed. The Water Project was approved by the South Florida Water Management District in late 2014, and the Company's engineering and environmental consultants immediately began working on a detailed design. As a result of the uniqueness of the project site, which consists of over 11,000 acres of wetlands and several cultural resource sites, considerable effort has been undertaken over the past 3.5 years in securing necessary regulatory approvals for the project from both the State of Florida and the federal government. In addition, the project requires close coordination with adjacent landowners, as well as the water control districts that serve those landowner/properties. On September 29, 2015, the SFWMD amended the contract to extend it for an additional year. In 2016, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection included the project in the State’s Northern Everglades Public-Private Partnership Program.

The contract term is eleven years and allows up to one year for implementation (design, permitting, construction and construction completion certification) and ten years of operation, whereby the Company will provide water retention services. Payment for these services includes an amount not to exceed $4,000,000 of reimbursement for implementation. In addition, the contract provides an annual fixed payment of $12,000,000 for operations and maintenance costs, as long as the project is in compliance with the contract and subject to annual District Board approval of funding. The contract specifies that the District Board has to approve the payments annually through its budget process and there can be no assurance that it will approve the annual fixed payments. The Florida budget for the state’s 2018/2019 fiscal year as approved included Save Our Everglades trust/legacy Florida funding for the Program. On September 19, 2018 the SFWMD issued a press release announcing the issuance of an Environmental Resource Permit for Alico. The SFWMD release also stated that (i) the issuance of the permit cleared the path for Alico to deliver a dispersed water storage project in the Caloosahatchee Watershed, (ii) Alico has all necessary state approvals to proceed, and (iii) the project is expected to be operational within one year from the start of construction, which is contingent on Alico securing additional local and federal approvals. These approvals include a compatible use agreement from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, as well as approvals from the local water control districts. Permitting is currently underway with construction to follow will begin immediately upon receipt of permits. Annual fixed payments will not commence until completion of construction. The Company

anticipates receiving all necessary regulatory approvals within the next four to six months. The Company has not recognized any revenue to date from the contract. Operating expenses were approximately $1,619,000, $1,794,000 and $2,322,000 for each of the three years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Tender Offer

On September 5, 2018 the Board of Directors approved and Alico announced the commencement of an issuer tender offer (the “Tender Offer”) to purchase up to $19,999,990 in value of shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $34.00 per share. On October 3, 2018, upon the terms and subject to the conditions described in the Offer to Purchase dated September 5, 2018 Alico repurchased an aggregate of 752,234 shares at a price of $34.00 per share aggregating $25,575,956. These shares represented approximately 9.2% of the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding as of October 2, 2018. Included in the 752,234 shares were 163,999 shares that the Company elected to purchase pursuant to its right to purchase up to an additional 2% of its outstanding shares of common stock. 734 Investors LLC, Alico’s largest stockholder since 2013, participated in the Tender Offer and sold a small percentage of its holdings. Members of neither the management team nor the Board of Directors sold any shares directly in the tender offer.

Hurricane Irma

Florida’s citrus industry was hit hard by the recent impacts of Hurricane Irma. Alico’s production was down by approximately 36% from the prior season. While the Company lost a small percentage of trees, the force and duration of the storm impacted the majority of the groves. Based upon prior experience with serious storms of this nature, Alico expects it will take at least two seasons for the groves to recover to pre-hurricane production levels. The Company finished with production of 4,827,000 boxes in fiscal year 2018 and anticipates an increase in production in fiscal year 2019 to 6,300,000-6,600,000 boxes and a return to pre-hurricane production levels by fiscal year 2020, which is approximately 7,900,000.

In addition to the commercial insurance claims which have been submitted, the Company may be eligible for Irma federal relief programs distributed by the Farm Service Agency under the 2017 Wildfires and Hurricane Indemnity Program (2017 WHIP) as well as block grants that will be administered through the State of Florida. The specifics of the programs are still being finalized and at this time, the Company cannot determine the amount of federal relief funds which will be received or when these funds will be disbursed.

Alico 2.0 Modernization Program

The Company is working to maintain operational efficiencies and deploy its resources to solidify the Company's position as a leader in the recovering citrus industry.

Alico 2.0 also led us to decide to divest assets that generated low rates of return and shut down parts of our operations that were not profitable. Alico Citrus has shut down its nursery in Gainesville, Florida, is in the process of selling its trailers and has either sold or in the process of selling real estate assets that are not strategic to our business plan.

In January 2018, we ceased our direct cattle operations at Alico Ranch. The ranch had been a landholding for us for generations, but, even when profitable, ranch operations generated a minimal rate of return on capital. We continue to own the property and

continue to conduct our long-term water dispersement program and wildlife management programs, and we now lease the ranch to a third-party operator instead of conducting our own cattle operations. All of these decisions enabled additional investment in the citrus business and redeployment of capital elsewhere.

The Company planted over 400,000 trees in fiscal year 2018, to help position the Company for future production growth which is expected to drive growth beyond 2020. The Company believes that its current acreage can produce 10,000,000 boxes per year on a sustained basis, even in an environment where citrus greening continues.

Consolidated Results of Operations

The following discussion provides an analysis of Alico's results of operations and should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016:



(in thousands)	Fiscal Year Ended											Fiscal Year Ended
	September 30,						Change					September 30,						Change
	2018			2017			$			%		2017			2016			$			%
Operating revenues:
Alico Citrus	$	78,121		$	123,441		$	(45,320	)	(36.7	)%	$	123,441		$	137,282		$	(13,841	)	(10.1	)%
Water Resources and Other Operations	3,160			6,388			(3,228		)	(50.5	)%	6,388			6,914			(526		)	(7.6	)%
Total operating revenues	81,281			129,829			(48,548		)	(37.4	)%	129,829			144,196			(14,367		)	(10.0	)%

Gross profit (loss):
Alico Citrus	26,412			11,494			14,918			129.8	%	11,494			34,935			(23,441		)	(67.1	)%
Water Resources and Other Operations	(819		)	(2,564		)	1,745			(68.1	)%	(2,564		)	124			(2,688		)	NM
Total gross profit	25,593			8,930			16,663			186.6	%	8,930			35,059			(26,129		)	(74.5	)%

General and administrative expenses	15,058			15,024			34			0.2	%	15,024			13,213			1,811			13.7	%
Income (loss) from operations	10,535			(6,094		)	16,629			(272.9	)%	(6,094		)	21,846			(27,940		)	(127.9	)%
Total other income (expense), net	2,655			(7,248		)	9,903			(136.6	)%	(7,248		)	(9,366		)	2,118			(22.6	)%
Income (loss) before income taxes	13,190			(13,342		)	26,532			(198.9	)%	(13,342		)	12,480			(25,822		)	(206.9	)%
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	390			(3,846		)	4,236			(110.1	)%	(3,846		)	5,521			(9,367		)	(169.7	)%
Net income (loss)	12,800			(9,496		)	22,296			(234.8	)%	(9,496		)	6,959			(16,455		)	(236.5	)%
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	250			45			205			NM		45			34			11			32.4	%
Net income (loss) attributable to Alico, Inc. common stockholders	$	13,050		$	(9,451	)	$	22,501		(238.1	)%	$	(9,451	)	$	6,993		$	(16,444	)	(235.1	)%

NM - Not Meaningful

The following table presents our operating revenues, by segment, as a percentage of total operating revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016:



	Fiscal Year Ended
	September 30,
	2018		2017		2016
Operating revenues:
Alico Citrus	96.1	%	95.1	%	95.2	%
Water Resources and Other Operations	3.9	%	4.9	%	4.8	%
Total operating revenues	100.0	%	100.0	%	100.0	%

The following discussion provides an analysis of the Company's operating segments:

Alico Citrus

The table below presents key operating measures for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016:



(in thousands, except per box and per pound solids data)
	Fiscal Year Ended										Fiscal Year Ended
	September 30,					Change					September 30,				Change
	2018			2017		Unit			%		2017		2016		Unit			%
Operating Revenues:
Early and Mid-Season	$	24,309		$	45,999	$	(21,690	)	(47.2	)%	$	45,999	$	43,909	$	2,090		4.8	%
Valencias	48,865			67,146		(18,281		)	(27.2	)%	67,146		75,311		(8,165		)	(10.8	)%
Fresh Fruit	2,054			5,735		(3,681		)	(64.2	)%	5,735		5,173		562			10.9	%
Purchase and Resale of Fruit	809			2,331		(1,522		)	(65.3	)%	2,331		8,188		(5,857		)	(71.5	)%
Other	2,084			2,230		(146		)	(6.5	)%	2,230		4,701		(2,471		)	(52.6	)%
Total	$	78,121		$	123,441	$	(45,320	)	(36.7	)%	$	123,441	$	137,282	$	(13,841	)	(10.1	)%
Boxes Harvested:
Early and Mid-Season	1,811			3,215		(1,404		)	(43.7	)%	3,215		3,634		(419		)	(11.5	)%
Valencias	2,891			4,044		(1,153		)	(28.5	)%	4,044		5,195		(1,151		)	(22.2	)%
Total Processed	4,702			7,259		(2,557		)	(35.2	)%	7,259		8,829		(1,570		)	(17.8	)%
Fresh Fruit	125			328		(203		)	(61.9	)%	328		402		(74		)	(18.4	)%
Total	4,827			7,587		(2,760		)	(36.4	)%	7,587		9,231		(1,644		)	(17.8	)%
Pound Solids Produced:
Early and Mid-Season	9,194			17,950		(8,756		)	(48.8	)%	17,950		20,167		(2,217		)	(11.0	)%
Valencias	17,319			24,661		(7,342		)	(29.8	)%	24,661		31,237		(6,576		)	(21.1	)%
Total	26,513			42,611		(16,098		)	(37.8	)%	42,611		51,404		(8,793		)	(17.1	)%
Pound Solids per Box:
Early and Mid-Season	5.07			5.58		(0.51		)	(9.1	)%	5.58		5.55		0.03			0.5	%
Valencias	5.99			6.10		(0.11		)	(1.8	)%	6.10		6.01		0.09			1.5	%
Price per Pound Solids:
Early and Mid-Season	$	2.64		$	2.56	$	0.08		3.1	%	$	2.56	$	2.18	$	0.38		17.4	%
Valencias	$	2.82		$	2.72	$	0.10		3.7	%	$	2.72	$	2.41	$	0.31		12.9	%
Price per Box:
Fresh Fruit	$	16.43		$	17.48	$	(1.05	)	(6.0	)%	$	17.48	$	12.85	$	4.63		36.0	%
Operating Expenses:
Cost of Sales	$	46,477		$	84,909	$	(38,432	)	(45.3	)%	$	84,909	$	64,824	$	20,085		31.0	%
Harvesting and Hauling	12,921			21,520		(8,599		)	(40.0	)%	21,520		25,949		(4,429		)	(17.1	)%
Purchase and Resale of Fruit	562			2,134		(1,572		)	(73.7	)%	2,134		7,815		(5,681		)	(72.7	)%
Other	(8,251		)	3,384		(11,635		)	(343.8	)%	3,384		3,759		(375		)	(10.0	)%
Total	$	51,709		$	111,947	$	(60,238	)	(53.8	)%	$	111,947	$	102,347	$	9,600		9.4	%

Gross Profit	$	26,412		$	11,494	$	14,918				$	11,494	$	34,935	$	(23,441	)

Our citrus groves produce the majority of our annual operating revenues and the citrus grove business is seasonal because it is tied to the growing and harvest season. Historically, the second and third quarters of Alico's fiscal year produce the majority of the annual revenues, and working capital requirements are typically greater in the first and fourth quarters of the fiscal year, coinciding with the growing cycles.

The Company sells its Early and Mid-Season and Valencia oranges to processors that convert the majority of the citrus crop into orange juice. They generally buy the citrus on a pound solids basis, which is the measure of the soluble solids (sugars and acids) contained in one box of fruit. Fresh fruit is generally sold to packing houses that purchase the citrus on a per box basis. Other revenues consist of third-party grove caretaking and the purchase and reselling of fruit.

Alico's operating expenses consist primarily of cost of sales and harvesting and hauling costs. Cost of sales represents the cost of maintaining the citrus groves for the preceding calendar year and does not vary in relation to production. Harvesting and hauling costs represent the costs of bringing citrus product to processors and varies based upon the number of boxes produced. Other expenses include the period costs of third-party grove caretaking and the purchase and reselling of fruit.

The decrease in revenues for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018, compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, was primarily due to the impact of Hurricane Irma. The Company experienced a greater amount of fruit drop from the impact of Hurricane Irma and consequently harvested approximately 2,557,000 fewer processed boxes in fiscal year 2018, as compared to the same period in fiscal year 2017. The Company also saw an overall decrease in pound solids per box which went from 5.87 in the fiscal year ended September 2017 to 5.64 in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018. The Company did experience a smaller fruit drop with respect to its Valencia fruit which is harvested later in the year as compared to the Early and Mid-Season variety and as such realized a smaller overall reduction in boxes produced. In addition, the decrease in revenue, to a smaller extent, was due to fewer boxes of fresh fruit being sold for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018. The decrease in revenues from purchase and resale of fruit and other revenues reflects the Company’s decision to reduce third party fruit purchases and third party caretaking services.

The decrease in revenues for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016, was primarily due to the harvesting of approximately 1,570,000 fewer processed boxes of fruit, partially offset by higher pound solids per box and higher price per pound solids. The decrease in revenues from purchase and resale of fruit and other revenues reflects the Company’s decision to reduce third party fruit purchases and third-party caretaking services.

Total processed boxes harvested in fiscal year 2018 declined by approximately 35.2%, as compared to fiscal year 2017. Pound solids per box decreased by approximately 9.1% and approximately 1.8% for the Early and Mid-Season and Valencia oranges, respectively. The combination of these items resulted in approximately 16,098,000 less pound solids sold in fiscal year 2018, as compared to fiscal year 2017.

Total processed boxes harvested in fiscal year 2017 declined by approximately 17.8%, as compared to fiscal year 2016. Pound solids per box increased by approximately 0.5% and 1.5% for the Early and Mid-Season and Valencia oranges, respectively, which resulted in approximately 8,793,000 less pound solids sold in fiscal year 2017, as compared to fiscal year 2016.

The decline in boxes harvested and pound solids produced for fiscal year 2018, as compared to fiscal year 2017, was primarily driven by the impact of Hurricane Irma, which occurred in September 2017.

The decline in boxes harvested and pound solids produced for fiscal year 2017, as compared to fiscal year 2016, is believed to be mainly driven by growing season fluctuations in production which may have been attributable to various factors, including extreme weather patterns such as a drought and higher than normal temperatures during the Early and Mid-season harvest impacting all varieties. Other factors included changes in weather impacting bloom, horticultural practices, and the effects of diseases and pests, including citrus greening. The industry and the Company both continue to experience premature fruit drop, as well as smaller-sized fruit as a result of the factors described above.

The USDA, in its November 9, 2018 Citrus Crop Forecast for the 2018-19 harvest season, indicated its expectation that the Florida orange crop will increase from approximately 45,000,000 boxes for the 2017-18 crop year to approximately 77,000,000 boxes for the 2018-19 crop year, an increase of approximately 71.1%. The significant increase is the result of 2017-18 harvest season being impacted by Hurricane Irma and the related fruit loss experienced. The 2017-18 Florida orange crop declined by approximately 23,700,000 boxes, or approximately 34.5%, compared to the 2016-17 crop.

The Company originally estimated its fiscal year 2018 processed boxes would decrease by approximately 40-45% compared to processed boxes for fiscal year 2017. Based on the harvesting of fruit, the Company’s actual box production was down approximately 36%. The improvement from these estimates is the result of the Valencia variety fruit experiencing less fruit drop then was anticipated upon making the estimate in production. For the fiscal year 2019, the Company anticipates there will be an increase in processed boxes.

The increase in gross profit for fiscal year 2018, as compared to fiscal year 2017, was primarily driven by a decrease in operating expenses, which was partially offset by a reduction in revenues. The decrease in operating costs is due to (i) the Company allocating a smaller amount of its accumulated costs to its cost of goods sold, (ii) less harvesting cost incurred due to fewer boxes being harvested, and (iii) the Company receiving approximately $9,429,000 of insurance proceeds. Partially offsetting this decrease in operating expenses, along with the reduction in revenue, was impairment charges of approximately $3,349,000 relating to net realizable adjustment on inventory and long-lived assets. The decrease in revenue is primarily a result of the impact of Hurricane Irma.

The decrease in gross profit for fiscal year 2017, as compared to fiscal year 2016, related primarily to decreased revenues of approximately $13,841,000 discussed above, and the recording of an inventory casualty loss of approximately $13,489,000 relating to fruit loss as a result of Hurricane Irma.

In November 2017, the Company announced Alico 2.0. This initiative explored every aspect of Alico’s citrus and ranch operations, including corporate and operational cost structures, grove costs, purchasing and procurement, non-performing and under-performing assets, professional fees, and human resources efficiency. As previously mentioned, under this program the Company expects to reduce total expenses per acre to $2,164/acre when Alico 2.0 is fully implemented over the next two years. Overall, the program should reduce the Company’s cost to produce a pound solid from $2.14 to $1.56. This efficiency is being achieved through better purchasing, more precise application of selected fertilizers and chemicals, outsourcing work such as harvesting, hauling, and certain caretaking tasks, and by streamlining grove management. The Company will also deploy a more efficient labor model that is consistent and uniform for field staffing and grove operating programs, and aligns with the geographical footprint of the citrus groves. However, there can be no assurance that the anticipated cost savings will be realized under Alico 2.0.

Water Resources and Other Operations

The table below presents key operating measures for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016:



(in thousands)

	Fiscal Year Ended September 30,						Change					Fiscal Year Ended September 30,					Change
	2018			2017			$			%		2017			2016		$			%
Revenue From:
Land and other leasing	$	2,872		$	2,294		$	578		25.2	%	$	2,294		$	2,097	$	197		9.4	%
Sale of Calves and Culls	57			3,732			(3,675		)	(98.5	)%	3,732			4,604		(872		)	(18.9	)%
Other	231			362			(131		)	(36.2	)%	362			213		149			70.0	%
Total	$	3,160		$	6,388		$	(3,228	)	(50.5	)%	$	6,388		$	6,914	$	(526	)	(7.6	)%

Operating Expenses:
Land and other leasing	$	1,072		$	466		$	606		130.0	%	$	466		$	695	$	(229	)	(32.9	)%
Sale of Calves and Culls	1,075			3,527			(2,452		)	(69.5	)%	3,527			3,694		(167		)	(4.5	)%
Water Conservation	1,619			1,794			(175		)	(9.8	)%	1,794			2,322		(528		)	(22.7	)%
Other	213			3,165			(2,952		)	(93.3	)%	3,165			79		3,086			NM
Total	$	3,979		$	8,952		$	(4,973	)	(55.6	)%	$	8,952		$	6,790	$	2,162		31.8	%

Gross Profit	$	(819	)	$	(2,564	)	$	1,745		(68.1	)%	$	(2,564	)	$	124	$	(2,688	)	NM

NM - Not Meaningful

Land and other leasing include lease income from a lease for grazing rights, a lease to a third party of an aggregate mine and leases of oil extraction rights to third parties, farm lease revenue, the generation of revenues from sod and tree sales and rental income for office space.

The decrease in revenues from Water Resources and Other Operations is primarily due to selling of Alico's cattle herd in January 2018. All inventory costs that were accumulated at the date of sale were expensed. As part of this transaction, the Company entered into a long-term leasing arrangement with the purchaser for the grazing rights on the Ranch that provides an annual revenue stream of approximately $1,200,000. The Company continues to own the property and continues to conduct its long-term water dispersement program and wildlife management programs. As a result of these changes, Alico renamed this division to Alico Water Resources to reflect its focus on water storage and nutrient reduction. Alico believes that its dispersed water storage project is the largest and most cost-effective project of its kind in the United States, and believes, once permits from state and federal agencies have been approved, the project will store and prevent large volumes of water from entering the Caloosahatchee River, will remove substantial amounts of nitrogen from the watershed, and will help to rehydrate natural systems that eventually flow south into the Everglades.

The decrease in revenues from the sale of calves and culls in fiscal year 2017, as compared to fiscal year 2016, is primarily due to a decrease in price per pound. The decrease in gross profit for fiscal year 2017, as compared to fiscal year 2016, relates primarily to certain impairments which were recorded on assets associated with the Ranch.

Water storage and conservation

In December 2012, the South Florida Water Management District ("SFWMD") issued a solicitation request for projects to be considered for the Northern Everglades Payment for Environmental Services Program. In March 2013, the Company submitted its response proposing a dispersed water management project on a portion of its ranch land.

On December 11, 2014, the SFWMD approved a contract with the Company. The contract term is eleven years and allows up to one year for implementation (design, permitting, construction and construction completion certification) and ten years of operation, whereby the Company will provide water retention services. Payment for these services includes an amount not to exceed $4,000,000 of reimbursement for implementation. In addition, it provides for an annual fixed payment of $12,000,000 for operations and maintenance costs, as long as the project is in compliance with the contract and subject to annual District Board approval of funding. The contract specifies that the District Board has to approve the payments annually and there can be no assurance that it will approve the annual fixed payments. The approved Florida budget for the state’s 2018/2019 fiscal year included funding for the Program, and on September 19, 2018 the SFWMD issued a press release announcing the issuance of an Environmental Resource Permit for Alico. The SFWMD release also stated that (i) the issuance of the permit cleared the path for Alico to deliver a dispersed water storage project in the Caloosahatchee Watershed, (ii) Alico has all necessary state approvals to proceed, and (iii) the project is expected to be operational within one year from the start of construction, which is contingent on Alico securing additional local and federal approvals. These approvals include a compatible use agreement from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, as well as approvals from the local water control districts. Operating expenses were approximately $1,619,000, $1,794,000, and $2,322,000 for each of the three years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

During fiscal year 2017, Alico recorded an impairment of two abandoned mines in the amount of approximately $3,165,000 based on independent third-party assessments, and the Company's decision to not pursue a Natural Resource business initiative.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018 was approximately $15,058,000, compared to approximately $15,024,000 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017.

The slight increase in general and administrative expenses in fiscal year 2018, as compared to the same period in fiscal year 2017, primarily relates to increases in bonus awards provided to senior executives and managers, an acceleration of stock compensation expense as a result of two senior executives forfeiting a portion of their stock options, costs related to the Tender Offer which commenced in September 2018 and an increase in rent, which commenced October 30, 2017, as a result of the Company selling its office building in Fort Myers, FL, and leasing back a portion of the space. These items resulted in an aggregate increase in general and administrative expenses of approximately $2,700,000. These increases were offset by decreases primarily attributable to salary and stock compensation expenses incurred with respect to employment agreements executed for new executives in the fiscal year 2017 which did not occur in the fiscal year 2018, a reduction of expenses incurred relating to separation and consulting arrangements, as well as a reduction in bad debt expense and recruiting fees.

The increase in general and administrative expenses in fiscal year 2017, as compared to fiscal year ended 2016, primarily relates to salary and stock compensation expenses incurred with respect to employment agreements executed for new executives during the year. In addition, the Company also entered into a separation and consulting agreement with a departing executive. These items resulted in an increase of approximately $2,100,000 over the prior year. See Note 15. “Related Party Transactions” in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion. Also, the Company wrote off certain advances made related to excavating work in the amount of approximately $312,000.

Other Income (Expense), net

Other income (expense), net, for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 was approximately $2,655,000 and approximately $(7,248,000), respectively. The shift from other expense, net to other income, net is primarily due to recording a higher gain on sale of real estate, property and equipment and assets held for sale. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018, the Company sold certain properties and equipment which included its corporate office building in Fort Myers, Florida, its Gal Hog property and a land parcel within its East Ranch resulting in gains of approximately $1,751,000, $6,709,000 and $1,759,000, respectively. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Company sold land and facilities in Hendry County, Florida, which resulted in a gain of approximately $1,371,000. Additionally, the Company incurred less interest expense of approximately $580,000 due to the continued pay-down of its long-term debt, as well as a prepayment made on a loan of approximately $4,453,000 with the proceeds from the asset sales.

Other expense, decreased by approximately $2,118,000 in fiscal year 2017, as compared to fiscal year 2016, primarily due to an increase in gain on sale of real estate of $1,563,000 and a decrease in interest expense of $752,000. During the fiscal year 2017, the Company sold land and facilities located in Hendry County, Florida which resulted in a gain on sale of approximately $1,371,000. The decrease in interest expense is due to the Company continuing to pay down its term loan, which was partially offset by an increase in interest rates.

Provision (benefit) for Income Taxes

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, the provision (benefit) for income taxes was approximately $390,000, $(3,846,000), and $5,521,000, respectively, and the related effective income tax rates were approximately 2.96%, 28.83% and 44.20%, respectively. The change in the provision for income taxes for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018, as compared to fiscal year 2017, primarily resulted from (i) the Company generating net income, (ii) a one-time non-cash deferred income tax benefit of approximately $9,847,000 resulting from the remeasurement of the Company's net deferred tax liabilities due to the 21% corporate tax rate that was enacted December 22, 2017, and (iii) a valuation allowance on its capital loss carryforward, which expired at September 30, 2018, of approximately $5,634,000, resulting in an additional income tax expense. The changes in the provision for income taxes for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, as compared to the fiscal year 2016, was primarily related to changes in taxable income (loss).

Seasonality

Historically, the second and third quarters of Alico's fiscal year produce the majority of its annual revenue. Working capital requirements are typically greater in the first and fourth quarters of the fiscal year, coinciding with harvesting cycles. However, in the fiscal year 2018, due to the impact of Hurricane Irma, the boxes were harvested earlier in the season than normal and therefore the Company realized a greater amount of revenue in the first two quarters of fiscal year 2018. As a result, the working capital requirements varied from the typical trends it has historically experienced in past years. The Company anticipates the historic seasonality it has experienced will return in fiscal year 2019.

Because of the seasonality of the business, results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for the full fiscal year.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

A comparative balance sheet summary is presented in the following table:



(in thousands)	September 30,
	2018		2017		Change
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	32,260	$	3,395	$	28,865
Total current assets	$	72,240	$	66,489	$	5,751
Total current liabilities	$	21,498	$	15,983	$	5,515
Working capital	$	50,742	$	50,506	$	236
Total assets	$	423,422	$	419,182	$	4,240
Term loans and line of credit	$	177,034	$	186,476	$	(9,442	)
Current ratio	3.36 to 1		4.16 to 1

Alico's business has historically generated positive net cash flows from operating activities. Sources of cash primarily include cash flows from operations, sales of under-performing land and other assets, amounts available under the Company's credit facilities and access to capital markets. Access to additional borrowings under revolving lines of credit is subject to the satisfaction of customary borrowing conditions. As a public company, Alico may have access to other sources of capital. However, access to, and availability of, financing on acceptable terms in the future will be affected by many factors, including (i) financial condition, prospects and credit rating, (ii) liquidity of the overall capital markets and (iii) the state of the economy. There can be no assurance that the Company will continue to have access to the capital markets on acceptable terms, or at all.

The principal uses of cash that affect Alico's liquidity position include the following: operating expenses including employee costs, the cost of maintaining the citrus groves, harvesting and hauling of citrus products, capital expenditures, stock repurchases, dividends, and debt service costs including interest and principal payments on term loans and other credit facilities.

Management believes that a combination of cash-on-hand, cash generated from operations and availability under the Company's lines of credit will provide sufficient liquidity to service the principal and interest payments on its indebtedness and will satisfy working capital requirements and capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months and over the long term. Alico has a $70,000,000 working capital line of credit, of which approximately $57,015,000 is available for general use as of September 30, 2018, and a $25,000,000 revolving line of credit, of which $25,000,000 is available for general use as of September 30, 2018 (see Note 6. “Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit" to the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements). If the Company pursues significant growth opportunities in the future, it could have a material adverse impact on its cash balances and may need to finance such activities by drawing funds from its lines of credit or by obtaining additional debt or equity financing. There can be no assurance that additional financing will be available to the Company when needed or, if available, that it can be obtained on commercially reasonable terms. Any inability to obtain additional financing could impact Alico's ability to pursue different growth opportunities.

Alico's level of debt could have important consequences on its business, including, but not limited to, increasing vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions, limiting cash flow availability to fund future investments, capital expenditures, working capital, business activities and other general corporate requirements and limiting flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in the business and the industry in which the Company operates.

Cash Management Impacts

Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash increased approximately $28,865,000 as of September 30, 2018, as compared to September 30, 2017. Cash and cash equivalents decreased by approximately $3,230,000 as of September 30, 2017, as compared to September 30, 2016. The components of these changes are discussed below.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

The following table details the items contributing to the changes in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash for fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016:



(in thousands)	Fiscal Year Ended September 30,									% Change
	2018			2017			2016			2018 vs 2017		2017 vs 2016
Net cash provided by operating activities	$	19,055		$	28,229		$	30,357		(32.5	)%	(7.0	)%
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	22,447			(10,085		)	(13,034		)	(322.6	)%	(22.6	)%
Net cash used in financing activities	(12,637		)	(21,374		)	(16,172		)	(40.9	)%	32.2	%
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	28,865		$	(3,230	)	$	1,151

Net Cash Provided By Operating Activities

The following table details the items contributing to Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016:



(in thousands)	Fiscal Year Ended September 30,									Fiscal Year Ended September 30,
	2018			2017			Change			2017			2016			Change
Net income (loss)	$	12,800		$	(9,496	)	$	22,296		$	(9,496	)	$	6,959		$	(16,455	)
Gain on sale of sugarcane land	(967		)	(538		)	(429		)	(538		)	(618		)	80
Depreciation, depletion and amortization	13,756			15,226			(1,470		)	15,226			15,382			(156		)
Loss on breeding herd sales	13			337			(324		)	337			296			41
Deferred income tax (benefit) expense	(1,955		)	(3,948		)	1,993			(3,948		)	5,277			(9,225		)
Cash surrender value	(27		)	(15		)	(12		)	(15		)	(20		)	5
Deferred retirement benefits	(41		)	(102		)	61			(102		)	65			(167		)
Magnolia Fund undistributed (earnings) loss	(8		)	202			(210		)	202			103			99
(Gain) loss on sale of real estate, property and equipment and assets held for sale	(10,281		)	(1,373		)	(8,908		)	(1,373		)	147			(1,520		)
Inventory casualty loss	—			13,489			(13,489		)	13,489			—			13,489
Inventory net realizable value adjustment	1,115			1,199			(84		)	1,199			—			1,199
Impairment of long-lived assets and assets held for sale	2,234			9,346			(7,112		)	9,346			—			9,346
Loss on disposal of property and equipment	207			—			207			—			—			—
Non-cash interest expense on deferred gain on sugarcane land	1,361			1,413			(52		)	1,413			1,406			7
Bad debt expense	24			312			(288		)	312			—			312
Stock-based compensation expense	2,613			1,653			960			1,653			924			729
Other, including working capital changes	(1,789		)	524			(2,313		)	524			436			88
Net cash provided by operating activities	$	19,055		$	28,229		$	(9,174	)	$	28,229		$	30,357		$	(2,128	)

The decrease in net cash provided by operating activities for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018, as compared to the same period in the fiscal year 2017, was primarily due to the effect of the Company recognizing a greater gain on the sale of real estate, property and equipment and assets held for sale as a result of the Company’s decision to divest itself from several non-core and underperforming assets during the fiscal year 2018. Additionally, the Company experienced a decrease in working capital as

compared to the previous fiscal year. This is primarily the result of the Company having a smaller increase in accounts receivable due to lower revenues earned, and experiencing a smaller decrease in inventory levels due the Company taking an impairment on its inventory levels at September 30, 2017, which directly impacted the change for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in net income.

The decrease in net cash provided by operating activities for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016 was primarily due to a decrease in net income and deferred tax expense and was substantially offset by the Company recording an inventory casualty loss, which was the direct result of Hurricane Irma, and other impairments recorded on certain assets held for sale and other fixed assets (see Note 3. “Inventories” in the Notes the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion on inventory casualty loss).

Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Investing Activities

The following table details the items contributing to Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Investing Activities for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016:



(in thousands)	Fiscal Year Ended September 30,					Fiscal Year Ended September 30,
	2018			2017	Change	2017	2016	Change
Capital expenditures	$	(16,352	)