Farmer Bros. to Close Torrance Headquarters, Leave California

0

South Bay coffee roaster Farmer Bros. Co. announced Thursday that it will close its Torrance headquarters and move out of state, setting up shop in either Oklahoma City or the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The company, one of the oldest publicly traded firms in Los Angeles County, started as a door-to-door business in Los Angeles in 1912. It will choose its new out-of-state headquarters based on the outcome of state and local government incentive negotiations and final site selection.

The company announced the move along with the release of its earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31. Earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates.

Farmer Bros. reported net income of $2.9 million (18 cents a share), a 50 percent decrease from the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose one percent to $145 million.

Analysts had expected earnings would be 30 cents a share on revenue of $150 million.

Farmer Bros. said it expects its relocation plan to result in annualized savings of $12 million to $15 million, beginning in the latter half of fiscal 2016. But moving will initially cost the company. Farmer Bros. expects to incur roughly $35 million to $40 million in new facility costs with an additional $20 million to $25 million in anticipated capital expenditures for machinery, equipment, furniture and other necessities.

The company expects the cost of moving to be partially offset by profits from the sale of the company’s Torrance facility. It believes that the current land value of the Torrance headquarters, based on comparable sales data and the size of the parcel, is between $28 million and $35 million.

Shares of Farmer Bros. fell $5.03, or 17 percent, in Thursday trading to close at $25.20.

No posts to display