{"id":35450,"title":"Owner of Tropicana warns about profit squeeze as orange price soar","publisher":"Stockmark.IT","author":"Stockmark.IT Website","published":"2024-09-30T04:17:24+00:00","modified":"2024-09-29T16:21:05+00:00","canonical_url":"https://stockmark.it/owner-of-tropicana-warns-about-profit-squeeze-as-orange-price-soar/","markdown_url":"https://stockmark.it/owner-of-tropicana-warns-about-profit-squeeze-as-orange-price-soar.md","json_url":"https://stockmark.it/owner-of-tropicana-warns-about-profit-squeeze-as-orange-price-soar.json","category":"Financial","categories":["Financial"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/stockmark.it/wp-content/uploads/stencil.stockmark-it-10-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"Private equity-owned drinks company Tropicana, which produces fruit juices such as Tropicana, has warned that a citrus blight has caused the destruction of crops and is likely to lead to a rise in prices for consumers. Naked Juice (which owns Tropicana) told lenders in this month it expected to make an underlying profit of $322,000,000 (£241,000,000) this year. This is a significant increase from the $375,000,000 it previously predicted.\n\nS&P Global Ratings warned Naked Juice that it was in danger of breaching its covenants on its $350,000,000 revolving facility. This is effectively an overdraft for the company. In 2021, French private-equity firm PAI Partners purchased a majority stake from PepsiCo for $3.3 billion. This created a joint enterprise between the two companies that had $2.3 billion in debt.\n\nNaked Juice has seen its production costs rise as it struggles to find healthy oranges. The spread of Citrus Greening Disease has led to a more than doubling of orange prices in the last year.\n\nAccording to Circana, the average price of oranges juice at the supermarkets rose 10.8% in the past year. Prices are likely to rise further due to ongoing problems with the supply chain.\n\nAccording to S&P analyst Gerald Phelan, Naked used to buy oranges mostly from Florida. However, the spread and severity of citrus greening has forced the company to purchase more in Brazil where farmers have made better use technology to control the disease.\n\nTo achieve the desired taste, the company uses a mixture of 25% Floridian and 75% Brazilian oranges."}