Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. plunged in trading Friday after the company issued a weak outlook. THE SPARK: Green Mountain reported late Thursday that its fourth-quarter results beat expectations but issued disappointing guidance due to rising coffee prices and the cost of launching new products.
The company said it expects adjusted earnings per share of between 14 cents and 18 cents. Analysts had been expecting 20 cents per share. Green Mountain also widened the lower end of its full-year 2011 forecast. It now expects to earn $1.19 to $1.29 per share, down from an earlier estimate of $1.24 to $1.29 per share. Analysts forecast earnings of $1.18 per share.
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Sunday, December 12, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Green Mountain Q4 Profit Rises, Sees Q1 Earnings Below Street; Shares Down
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., (GMCR: News ), Thursday reported a rise in profit for the fourth quarter, as sales grew 73% driven primarily by higher K-Cup portion pack net sales. Both quarterly earnings and revenues came in ahead of analysts' estimates. Looking ahead, the company provided its earnings outlook for the first quarter, which is expected to fall short of estimates. Following the news, the company shares plunged more than 12% in after-hours trade.
The Waterbury, Vermont-based specialty coffee maker's net income for the fourth quarter increased to $26.99 million or $0.20 per share from $14.05 million or $0.11 per share in the previous year.
After adjusting for acquisition-related expenses of $4.96 million, net income for the quarter was $29.81 million or $0.22 per share. On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.20 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales for the quarter increased 73% to $373.09 million from $215.96 million last year. Analysts estimated revenues of $359.18 million for the quarter.
About 90% of consolidated net sales in the fourth quarter were from the Keurig brewing system and its recurring K-Cup portion pack revenue, including Keurig-related accessory sales and royalties from third party licensed roasters.
Net sales from K-Cup portion packs totaled $249.5 million for the quarter, up 115% over 2009. During the quarter, 832 million K-Cup portion packs were shipped system-wide by all Keurig-licensed roasters, representing an increase of 80% over the year-ago quarter.
Net sales from Keurig brewers and accessories totaled $82.2 million in the quarter, up 48% from the prior-year period. Net sales related to Timothy's and Diedrich, which are included in the company's fourth quarter results of fiscal year 2010 since acquisition in November 2009 and May 2010, respectively, represented approximately 16 percentage points of the 73%.
For the Keurig business unit, net sales for the quarter were $189.6 million, up 64% from a year ago. For the SCBU, net sales were $183.5 million, up 83% year-over-year.
"We estimate Keurig systems are currently active in approximately 6% of the 90 million coffee-drinking households in the United States, and we believe there is room to expand our presence going forward," said Lawrence Blanford, GMCR's president and CEO.
For the first quarter, the company expects non-GAAP earnings in the range of $0.14 to $0.18 per share and anticipates total consolidated net sales growth of 55% to 65%. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.20 per share for the first quarter.
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The Waterbury, Vermont-based specialty coffee maker's net income for the fourth quarter increased to $26.99 million or $0.20 per share from $14.05 million or $0.11 per share in the previous year.
After adjusting for acquisition-related expenses of $4.96 million, net income for the quarter was $29.81 million or $0.22 per share. On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.20 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales for the quarter increased 73% to $373.09 million from $215.96 million last year. Analysts estimated revenues of $359.18 million for the quarter.
About 90% of consolidated net sales in the fourth quarter were from the Keurig brewing system and its recurring K-Cup portion pack revenue, including Keurig-related accessory sales and royalties from third party licensed roasters.
Net sales from K-Cup portion packs totaled $249.5 million for the quarter, up 115% over 2009. During the quarter, 832 million K-Cup portion packs were shipped system-wide by all Keurig-licensed roasters, representing an increase of 80% over the year-ago quarter.
Net sales from Keurig brewers and accessories totaled $82.2 million in the quarter, up 48% from the prior-year period. Net sales related to Timothy's and Diedrich, which are included in the company's fourth quarter results of fiscal year 2010 since acquisition in November 2009 and May 2010, respectively, represented approximately 16 percentage points of the 73%.
For the Keurig business unit, net sales for the quarter were $189.6 million, up 64% from a year ago. For the SCBU, net sales were $183.5 million, up 83% year-over-year.
"We estimate Keurig systems are currently active in approximately 6% of the 90 million coffee-drinking households in the United States, and we believe there is room to expand our presence going forward," said Lawrence Blanford, GMCR's president and CEO.
For the first quarter, the company expects non-GAAP earnings in the range of $0.14 to $0.18 per share and anticipates total consolidated net sales growth of 55% to 65%. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.20 per share for the first quarter.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
ICCO chief sees risk to Ivorian cocoa supply
Risks to cocoa supplies from Ivory Coast are real and living conditions are not normal for people in rural cocoa growing areas, Jean-Marc Anga, Executive Director of the International Cocoa Organization, said on Wednesday."Short term the risk is real," Anga told Reuters in a telephone interview hours after returning from Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, where a disputed election has aroused political tensions. Referring to concerns over supplies from Ivory Coast, Anga, who is Ivorian, said that market fundamentals rather than speculation do explain this week's rally in ICE and Liffe cocoa futures markets to four-month peaks. "I think that this is one of the very few instances where the rally in prices can be attributed to fundamentals," Anga said.
"The speculators are probably compounding a volatile situation."ICE second-month cocoa futures eased on Wednesday from Tuesday's four-month high as investors locked in gains in a nervous market and continued to eye Ivory Coast tensions following the disputed presidential election.
ICE second-month cocoa closed at $3,035 per tonne on Wednesday, down $49, having touched a four-month high of $3,140 per tonne on Tuesday. Liffe second-month cocoa settled at 2,009 pounds, down 29 pounds, in moderate volume of 8,640 lots on Wednesday, having hit a four-month peak of 2,081 pounds on Tuesday.
The West African regional bloc ECOWAS recognised Alassane Ouattara as Ivory Coast's president-elect on Tuesday after a disputed ballot and urged incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to accept defeat. Anga said Abidjan port was operating normally, but said disruptions to living conditions in rural cocoa-growing areas raised concerns about future supplies to ports. "People (in rural areas) are going about their lives, but they are doing so very gingerly," Anga said.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Costa Rica's coffee farmers find another way to grind out a profit
Costa Rica has long been synonymous with a cup of rich coffee, but as the production and the export of the black-gold crop fall, farmers are turning to tourism to boost funds.At El Trapiche family farm in Monteverde, in the mountains north of the Central Valley, the tours started four years ago have been so popular that new guides are being trained. Over the course of two hours, visitors witness the different stages of coffee production: growing beans covered in red flesh, harvesting, drying, shelling, and roasting.
At $20 to $30 a ticket, the tours earn valuable wages for El Trapiche and the many other coffee farms open to visitors. Coffee was long the country’s No. 1 agricultural export, but has dropped behind bananas and pineapples in recent years owing to aging coffee plantations and competition from other coffee-producing countries such as Vietnam.
As Costa Rica remains a hugely popular destination among world travelers, coffee tours have become an easy way for farms to boost their funds, explains Jairo, one of the El Trapiche guides. But with an estimated 40 percent of coffee plants 20 years old or more and soon to go out of production, the tours are only secondary to renewing the plantations.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Where to find Davidoff coffee in London
Davidoff coffee is an elusive product. The best place to get hold of it it is by ordering it online from Black Star Gourmet. They have a wide selection, including espresso, café creme and whole bean products. You'll have to wait a while though - it's a company based in the US.Alternatively, you can get your fix at a few of the smartest hotels in London. I'd head to the Mandarin Oriental and then you could fit in the famous Bar Boulud burger before. Or go to The Mayfair Hotel on Strattion Street if you're in central London.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Cocoa Gains on Ivory Coast Vote Dispute; Sugar, Coffee, Orange Juice Rise
Cocoa rose, capping the biggest weekly gain since mid-July, as a disputed presidential election in Ivory Coast threatened to disrupt exports from the world’s largest grower. Sugar, coffee and orange juice also advanced.
Ivory Coast’s Constitutional Court challenged the electoral commission’s authority to proclaim the results of the Nov. 28 vote after it missed a deadline to announce the outcome, according to court President Paul Yao N’Dre. The commission had named opposition leader Alassane Ouattara as the winner.
“Given that cocoa production is so highly concentrated in Ivory Coast, any political disruption, violence or unrest” will see prices rise as investors apply a “risk premium,” Kona Haque, an analyst at Macquarie Bank Ltd. in London, said today by telephone. “The market is primed for an uptick.”
Cocoa for March delivery added $67, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $2,935 a metric ton on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. The most-active contract gained 5 percent this week, the biggest weekly increase since July 16. Still, prices are down 11 percent this year.
In London, cocoa futures for March delivery gained 36 pounds, or 1.9 percent, to 1,959 pounds ($3,082) a ton on NYSE Liffe. The contract rose to 1,962 pounds, the highest since Oct. 25
“Cocoa arrivals in ports in the season so far have been significantly lower year-on-year, despite the fact we’ve had a very good crop,” Haque said. “This suggests producers are holding back, either because they are not happy with the price or they’ve minimized activities because they’re fearful of the political situation and want to wait to see the outcome.”
The vote was intended to unite Ivory Coast, which has been divided between a rebel-held north and the government-controlled south since an uprising in 2002.
Sugar Rises
Raw-sugar futures for March delivery rose 1.05 cents, or 3.7 percent, to 29.5 cents a pound in New York, rising for the third straight day. In London, refined-sugar futures for March delivery climbed $12.10, or 1.7 percent, to $740 a ton on NYSE Liffe.
As of Nov. 15, output in India, the world’s second-biggest producer, slumped 46 percent in the year that began Oct. 1 from a year earlier to 893,000 tons, according to the food ministry. A total of 138 mills have been crushing cane since the season began, compared with 254 mills a year earlier, data from the ministry showed.
“It seems as if India’s output may be revised downwards,” Ricardo Scaff, a trader at Rabobank International in New York. “The fundamentals are very bullish.”
Brazil is the largest sugar producer.
Robusta-coffee futures for March delivery advanced $16, or 0.9 percent, to $1,864 a ton on NYSE Liffe. In New York, arabica-coffee futures for March delivery rose 1.1 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $2.048 a pound.
Cameroon’s arabica exports dropped to zero in October, the Cocoa and Coffee Inter-professional Board said. Shipments from the central African nation were 126 tons a year earlier, it said today, adding that heavy rains may have delayed the new crop.
Orange-juice futures for January delivery rose 1.35 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $1.568 a pound in New York, gaining 3.6 percent this week, the first weekly gain since late October.
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Ivory Coast’s Constitutional Court challenged the electoral commission’s authority to proclaim the results of the Nov. 28 vote after it missed a deadline to announce the outcome, according to court President Paul Yao N’Dre. The commission had named opposition leader Alassane Ouattara as the winner.
“Given that cocoa production is so highly concentrated in Ivory Coast, any political disruption, violence or unrest” will see prices rise as investors apply a “risk premium,” Kona Haque, an analyst at Macquarie Bank Ltd. in London, said today by telephone. “The market is primed for an uptick.”
Cocoa for March delivery added $67, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $2,935 a metric ton on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. The most-active contract gained 5 percent this week, the biggest weekly increase since July 16. Still, prices are down 11 percent this year.
In London, cocoa futures for March delivery gained 36 pounds, or 1.9 percent, to 1,959 pounds ($3,082) a ton on NYSE Liffe. The contract rose to 1,962 pounds, the highest since Oct. 25
“Cocoa arrivals in ports in the season so far have been significantly lower year-on-year, despite the fact we’ve had a very good crop,” Haque said. “This suggests producers are holding back, either because they are not happy with the price or they’ve minimized activities because they’re fearful of the political situation and want to wait to see the outcome.”
The vote was intended to unite Ivory Coast, which has been divided between a rebel-held north and the government-controlled south since an uprising in 2002.
Sugar Rises
Raw-sugar futures for March delivery rose 1.05 cents, or 3.7 percent, to 29.5 cents a pound in New York, rising for the third straight day. In London, refined-sugar futures for March delivery climbed $12.10, or 1.7 percent, to $740 a ton on NYSE Liffe.
As of Nov. 15, output in India, the world’s second-biggest producer, slumped 46 percent in the year that began Oct. 1 from a year earlier to 893,000 tons, according to the food ministry. A total of 138 mills have been crushing cane since the season began, compared with 254 mills a year earlier, data from the ministry showed.
“It seems as if India’s output may be revised downwards,” Ricardo Scaff, a trader at Rabobank International in New York. “The fundamentals are very bullish.”
Brazil is the largest sugar producer.
Robusta-coffee futures for March delivery advanced $16, or 0.9 percent, to $1,864 a ton on NYSE Liffe. In New York, arabica-coffee futures for March delivery rose 1.1 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $2.048 a pound.
Cameroon’s arabica exports dropped to zero in October, the Cocoa and Coffee Inter-professional Board said. Shipments from the central African nation were 126 tons a year earlier, it said today, adding that heavy rains may have delayed the new crop.
Orange-juice futures for January delivery rose 1.35 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $1.568 a pound in New York, gaining 3.6 percent this week, the first weekly gain since late October.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Kenya Coffee Prices Jump as Exporters Replenish Stocks
Kenyan coffee prices jumped 16 percent at an auction yesterday as exporters replenished their inventories amid reduced supplies ahead of the Christmas break, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange said. The average price for all coffee sold climbed to $341.22 per bag, compared with $295.16 at the previous auction a fortnight earlier, the exchange said today in an e-mailed report from Nairobi, the capital.
The benchmark AA grade increased 3.3 percent to an average of $426.71 a bag, the agency said. Supplies of the grade fell by a single bag to 4,245 50-kilogram (110-pound) bags, it said. “Buyers are scrambling for the coffee as we head into the festive season,” Kizito Keya, a coffee dealer at Mumba Coffee Ltd., said by phone from Nairobi. “We are remaining with one auction next week before we break off for the holidays.
Sales rose 2.3 percent to 16,127 bags worth $6.71 million, the exchange said. Supplies at the fifth auction of the 2010-11 season fell 2.7 percent to 23,421 bags, it said. The agency has been holding fortnightly sales instead of weekly auctions for more than two months because of low stocks.
Kenya’s coffee exports through the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, which handles the bulk of the shipments, fell 7.2 percent in 2009-10 to 36.197 tons after production declined, the agency said on Oct. 1. The country has yet to release an output forecast for this year, it said. Kenya harvests the bulk of its crop from October through December, while a secondary crop is reaped from April to June.
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The benchmark AA grade increased 3.3 percent to an average of $426.71 a bag, the agency said. Supplies of the grade fell by a single bag to 4,245 50-kilogram (110-pound) bags, it said. “Buyers are scrambling for the coffee as we head into the festive season,” Kizito Keya, a coffee dealer at Mumba Coffee Ltd., said by phone from Nairobi. “We are remaining with one auction next week before we break off for the holidays.
Sales rose 2.3 percent to 16,127 bags worth $6.71 million, the exchange said. Supplies at the fifth auction of the 2010-11 season fell 2.7 percent to 23,421 bags, it said. The agency has been holding fortnightly sales instead of weekly auctions for more than two months because of low stocks.
Kenya’s coffee exports through the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, which handles the bulk of the shipments, fell 7.2 percent in 2009-10 to 36.197 tons after production declined, the agency said on Oct. 1. The country has yet to release an output forecast for this year, it said. Kenya harvests the bulk of its crop from October through December, while a secondary crop is reaped from April to June.
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