Farmer Bros. Reports Net Income Per Share of $0.15 for Fiscal First Quarter 2010

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TORRANCE, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM) today reported unaudited results for its first
fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009.

(millions except per-share data) First Quarter
Fiscal 2010 Fiscal 2009
Net sales $ 112.1 $ 66.5
Net income (loss) 2.2 (6.1 )
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share $ 0.15 $ (0.42 )

Net sales increased 69%, driven by the addition of $43.7 million in net sales
from the DSD Coffee Business that the Company acquired from Sara Lee Corp., and
the year-over-year increase of $2.7 million in net sales by Coffee Bean Intl.
(CBI). The Company closed its acquisition of the DSD Coffee Business on Feb. 28,
2009. The Company`s total unit volume rose 62% over the levels in the first
quarter of last fiscal year.

"We continue to steadily integrate our businesses while also working to deliver
more value to our customers," said Rocky Laverty, President and CEO. "We are
implementing our plans to consolidate the operations we acquired last spring,
and we remain on track to complete all key integration activities during this
fiscal year. During the past quarter we commenced the conversion of our acquired
branch locations - as well as the Houston roasting plant and distribution
centers in Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis, New Jersey and Oklahoma City - to our
information systems. We remain confident we can achieve our goal of successfully
completing the IT conversion during the third quarter of this fiscal year."

Gross profit increased to $54.3 million, up 75% from last year`s $30.9 million.

Operating expenses increased to $56.8 million or 51% of sales compared with last
year`s $35.2 million or 53% of sales. The DSD Coffee Business accounted for
$18.3 million of the total increase of $21.6 million. The Company expects to
incur approximately $13.0 million in fiscal 2010 for integration expenses, the
largest portion of which is expected be incurred in the second fiscal quarter.

Year-Over-Year Increases
Net sales 69 %
Unit sales volume 62 %
Cost of goods sold 63 %
Operating expenses 61 %

The Company reported losses from operations of $2.5 million, an improvement over
a $4.3 million loss in last year's first quarter. The result in fiscal 2010
includes an increase in non-cash charges of $2.5 million for the depreciation
and amortization primarily related to the recently completed CBI facility in
Portland and the capital improvements in the Torrance facility, as well as
non-cash compensation expenses. On a non-GAAP basis, the Company generated
positive cash flow from its operations in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 of
$4.9 million, compared with $0.4 million in the first quarter of the prior year
(please refer to the table, "NON-GAAP OPERATING CASH FLOW," below).

The Company`s net income included an increase in the value of its portfolio of
preferred stocks, included in the Company`s Total Other Income of $5.1 million
that reflected net realized and unrealized gains in the first quarter, an
improvement over last year`s Total Other Loss of $8.3 million.

The Company ended the first quarter with cash and short-term investments of
$52.1 million, compared with $63.0 million on June 30, 2009. The Company reduced
its short term borrowings by $8.0 million and increased inventory by $10
million. The inventory increase reflects some seasonal effects as well as the
transition to and initial stocking of the newly opened distribution centers in
Chicago, Minneapolis and New Jersey, which allowed acquired operations to leave
similar facilities that are operated by Sara Lee.

About Farmer Bros.

Farmer Bros. Co. is the nation`s largest direct-store delivery business for
coffee and allied products such as cappuccino, cocoa mixes and spices. It roasts
and packages coffee for more than 10 brands; it processes and packages allied
products; it directly delivers its products and services to food service
operators and retailers in all 48 contiguous states. It also provides
private-label coffee programs to retailers through Coffee Bean Intl., one of the
nation's leading specialty coffee roasters. Farmer Bros. has paid a dividend in
every year since 1953, and its stock price has risen on a split-adjusted basis
from $1.80 a share in 1980. For more information, go to: www.farmerbros.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release regarding the risks,
circumstances and financial trends that may affect our future operating results,
financial position and cash flows are not based on historical fact and are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and
regulations. These statements are based on management's current expectations,
assumptions, estimates and observations of future events and include any
statements that do not directly relate to any historical or current fact. These
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words like
"anticipates," "feels," "estimates," "projects," "expects," "plans," "believes,"
"intends," "will," "assumes" and other words of similar meaning. Owing to the
uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, actual results could
differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements. We intend
these forward-looking statements to speak only at the time of this press release
and do not undertake to update or revise these statements as more information
becomes available except as required under federal securities laws and the rules
and regulations of the SEC. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, fluctuations in availability and cost of green coffee, competition,
organizational changes, our ability to successfully integrate the CBI and DSD
Coffee Business acquisitions, the impact of a weaker economy, business
conditions in the coffee industry and food industry in general, the Company's
continued success in attracting new customers, variances from budgeted sales mix
and growth rates, weather and special or unusual events, changes in the quality
or dividend stream of the third parties securities and other investment vehicles
in which the Company has invested its short-term assets, as well as other risks
described in this press release and other factors described from time to time in
the Company's filings with the SEC.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company uses "Non-GAAP operating cash flow" as a measure of the Company`s
operating trends. Investors are cautioned that "Non-GAAP operating cash flow" is
not a measure of liquidity or of financial performance under Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (GAAP). The "Non-GAAP operating cash flow" numbers
presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other
companies. "Non-GAAP operating cash flow," while providing useful information,
should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income or cash
flows as determined under GAAP. Consistent with Regulation G under the U.S.
federal securities laws, the non-GAAP measures in this press release have been
reconciled to the nearest GAAP measure, and this reconciliation is located under
the heading "NON-GAAP OPERATING CASH FLOW" following the Consolidated Statements
of Operations included in this release.

FARMER BROS. CO.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)

(unaudited)

Three months ended September 30,
2009 2008

Net sales $ 112,127 $ 66,524
Cost of goods sold 57,823 35,573
Gross profit 54,304 30,951
Selling expenses 44,298 28,004
General and administrative expenses 12,505 7,202
Operating expenses 56,803 35,206
Income (loss) from operations (2,499 ) (4,255 )
Other income (expense):
Dividend income 679 1,047
Interest income 93 477
Interest expense (139 ) -
Other, net income (expense) 4,161 (9,850 )
Total other income (expense) 5,094 (8,326 )
Income (loss) before taxes 2,595 (12,581 )
Income tax expense (benefit) 396 (6,496 )
Net income (loss) $ 2,199 $ (6,085 )

Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share $ 0.15 $ (0.42 )

Weighted average shares outstanding 14,748,564 14,429,074

Dividends declared per share $ 0.115 $ 0.115

NON-GAAP OPERATING CASH FLOW
Three months ended September 30
2009 2008
GAAP Loss from operations $ (2,499 ) $ (4,255 )
Add non-cash charges:
Depreciation & amortization 5,875 3,406
ESOP and share based compensation 1,572 1,273
Non-cash charges 7,447 $ 4,679
Non-GAAP operating cash flow $ 4,948 $ 424

Abernathy MacGregor Group
Jim Lucas or Megan Klein, 213-630-6550

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