Boston, MA 05/12/2014 (wallstreetpr) – PICO Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PICO), a company engaged in water resource and storage, agribusiness, and real estate, announced a narrow loss for the first quarter driven by 8% upside in revenue. The company indicated that its objective is to earn a superior return on net assets on a long-term basis than looking at short-term period.
1Q Results
The company’s loss narrowed to $14.98 million or a loss of 58 cents a share during the first quarter of 2014 compared to a net loss of $14 million or a loss of 66 cents a share in the 2013 first quarter.
PICO Holdings’ total revenues rose 8% to $56.81 million from $61.28 million in the year-ago quarter.
Segment Results
Revenue from water resources and water storage operations slipped 27.3% to $136 million from $184 million in the year earlier period. The segment’s loss narrowed to $1.99 million from $2.14 million in the last year period. The drought conditions in the Southwest continued to impact its results.
PICO Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PICO)’s revenue from real estate operations more than doubled to $25.77 million from $11.94 million in the previous year quarter. The company attributed the strong growth in revenue to 480% jump in a home builder revenue of $25.4 million. PICO Holdings’ continues to see opportunities to grow in this space and expects profitability to follow. During the latest quarter, the segment incurred a loss of $6.28 million compared to a loss of $711K in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue from its agribusiness operations also dipped 12% to $34.87 million from $39.57 million in the year earlier quarter. The company disclosed that the previous year period was benefited by a $5.2 million improvement in its Northstar’s crush margin as a result of the canola crop. The operating loss in this segment narrowed to $4.19 million from $9.72 million in the year earlier quarter. PICO Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PICO) claimed that it has been proactive in solving the seed delivery issues through the establishment of a dedicated fleet of truck.
