Alico - A Land Managament Co.

1970

The 1970 Annual Report reflected that total revenue had increased to $2.5 million, and in 1970, the Company's net income was $157 thousand.

Alico's total assets had increased to $8.6 million. In 1972 Ben Hill Griffin, Inc., purchased a large block of Alico stock that gave rise to a controlling interest. During 1973 Ben Hill Griffin, Jr., was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors, and a new era began.

Throughout the 1970s, the Company continued its expansion of citrus production and development. For the first time, total production topped 1 million boxes. The Company began diversifying into residential real estate development (Saddlebag Lake Resorts, Inc.), and selling lands that were not considered an integral part of its long-range strategy.

The first dividend was declared during 1973, and the Company's name was officially changed to Alico, Inc., in 1974. By the end of the decade, Alico's land holdings had decreased to 187 thousand acres, but included 108 thousand acres of improved and native pasture, along with 4,311 acres of citrus and 65 thousand acres of timberland.

All of this was the result of over thirty years of careful and meticulous implementation of the Company's long-range strategy.

1980

By 1980, Alico had grown dramatically, becoming a recognized leader in Florida's agricultural and business community. The annual report that year reflected total assets of over $20 million, total revenue had increased to $15.3 million, and net income totaled $4.2 million.

By now, earnings were primarily generated by citrus fruit (over 50 percent of total revenue), beef cattle, and real estate sales.

During the 1980s, the Company implemented a more aggressive approach to its citrus development, acquired additional lands that could be easily integrated with its current holdings, and began exploring other sources of revenue.

It was during this period that the Company first became interested in sugarcane production and started exploring the commercial development potential of its Lee County, Florida, property.

In 1987, the Board of Directors approved a four-for-one stock split. Citrus production exceeded 2 million boxes during the 1987/88 season, and in 1989, the first sugarcane crop (845 acres) was planted.