SunOpta Enhances Healthy Beverages Portfolio With Acquisition of Citrusource, Reports Record Revenues

03 Mar 2015 --- SunOpta Inc., a leading global company focused on organic and healthy foods announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Citrusource, LLC. The acquisition transaction closed contemporaneously with the execution of the definitive agreement.

Citrusource is a leading supplier of premium not-from-concentrate private label organic and conventional orange juice and citrus products in the United States with revenues of approximately $30 million. They operate a national sourcing and supply operation utilizing a number of processing and packaging partners to serve a variety of well-known retailer customers.

"This acquisition aligns with our core integrated two-touch strategy and leverages our vertically integrated operations as well as our Consumer Products strategy to grow our healthy beverages portfolio," said Steve Bromley, Chief Executive Officer of SunOpta. "The acquisition of Citrusource will leverage our integrated juice operation located in San Bernardino, CA, which is now operational. In addition, the Citrusource team brings significant market, commercial and operational expertise to SunOpta, which we expect will help us to drive synergies across our current healthy beverages segment and better serve our customers."

The business was acquired for a combination of cash on closing of $13.3 million, plus future payments based on specific performance targets, and are subject to certain post-closing adjustments. The acquisition was funded from available credit facilities and is expected to be immediately accretive.

"We are very excited to be joining SunOpta as this will allow us to better serve our customers as we leverage SunOpta's vertically integrated business and international sourcing expertise," said Bob Aicklen, Managing Partner at Citrusource. "Our product and process expertise will fit nicely with SunOpta's focus on healthy and organic beverages. As a result, we will be better able to leverage our combined expertise to expand our product capabilities and customer portfolio."

In addition to juice, SunOpta's CPG portfolio includes products for retail and foodservice use such as aseptic beverages, fruit snacks, specialty snack bars, roasted grains, individually quick frozen fruits and vegetables, and re-sealable pouch products.

The news came as SunOpta Inc. revealed record 2014 revenues of $1,242.6 million, an increase of 10.3% on a consolidated basis, and 11.8% within SunOpta Foods, after excluding the impact of changes including commodity prices, foreign exchange rates, and a 53rd week in 2014.

"2014 was a record year in our core foods business and we made progress on a number of fronts in support of our strategies focusing on our integrated natural and organic foods business, accelerating growth by delivering more value to our customers, and leveraging the integrated platform that we continue to build," said Steve Bromley, SunOpta's Chief Executive Officer.

Fourth Quarter 2014 revenues of $284.8 million were reported, an increase of 5.5% on a consolidated basis, and 5.3% within SunOpta Foods, after excluding the impact of changes including commodity prices and foreign exchange rates.

"During the quarter our Global Ingredients segment performed extremely well, however this was partly offset by commercial and operational pressures that were experienced in Consumer Products and Opta Minerals," Bromley continued. "We are addressing the challenges in Consumer Products, and the process to divest of Opta Minerals continues. We're fortunate to be participating in strong markets and remain focused on delivering value to our customers and our shareholders. Following the sale of the fiber and starch business and the acquisition of Citrusource we believe our integrated natural and organic foods platform is even better positioned to capitalize on opportunities from an increasing global awareness of healthy eating."