Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NGVC) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Natural Grocers third-quarter fiscal year 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

美好的一天，女士們先生們。歡迎參加 Natural Grocers 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）謹此提醒，今天的通話正在錄音。（操作員說明）

I'd now like to turn the conference over to Ms. Jessica Thiessen, Vice President, Treasurer for Natural Grocers. Ms. Thiessen, you may begin.

現在我想把會議交給天然雜貨公司副總裁兼財務長傑西卡·蒂森女士。蒂森女士，您可以開始了。

Good afternoon and thank you for joining us for the Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage third-quarter fiscal year 2024 earnings conference call. On the call with me today are Kemper Isely, Co-President; and Todd Dissinger, Chief Financial Officer.

下午好，感謝您參加我們的 Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我通話的是聯合總裁肯珀‧伊斯利 (Kemper Isely)；托德‧迪辛格 (Todd Dissinger)，財務長。

As a reminder, certain information provided during this conference call contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including the risks and uncertainties detailed in the company's most recently filed Forms 10-Q and 10-K.

提醒一下，本次電話會議期間提供的某些資訊包含基於當前預期和假設的前瞻性陳述，並受到風險和不確定性的影響。由於多種因素，包括公司最近提交的表格 10-Q 和 10-K 中詳述的風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中描述的結果有重大差異。

The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements. Today's press release is available on the company's website, and a recording of this call will be available on the website at investors.naturalgrocers.com.

該公司不承擔更新前瞻性陳述的義務。今天的新聞稿可在公司網站上查看，本次電話會議的錄音將在 Investors.naturalgrocers.com 網站上提供。

Now I will turn the call over to Kemper.

現在我將把電話轉給肯珀。

Thank you, Jessica, and good afternoon, everyone. Today, I will highlight our third-quarter financial results, including key drivers of our performance and provide an update on priorities. Then Todd will discuss the results in greater detail and review our updated fiscal year 2024 guidance.

謝謝你，潔西卡，大家下午好。今天，我將重點介紹我們第三季的財務業績，包括業績的關鍵驅動因素，並提供優先事項的最新情況。然後托德將更詳細地討論結果並回顧我們更新的 2024 財年指導。

We are very pleased with our financial results for the third quarter and year-to-date, including record sales, operating margin expansion, and diluted earnings per share growth. We believe that our customers, more than ever, understand and appreciate our compelling value proposition comprised of a carefully vetted offering of high-quality, natural, and organic products at always affordable prices.

我們對第三季和今年迄今的財務業績感到非常滿意，包括創紀錄的銷售額、營業利潤率擴張和稀釋每股收益成長。我們相信，我們的客戶比以往任何時候都更理解和欣賞我們令人信服的價值主張，包括以始終實惠的價格提供經過仔細審查的高品質、天然和有機產品。

Our marketing initiatives consistently emphasize these key characteristics to drive customer engagement. We believe that communicating and establishing our unique position in the marketplace has been instrumental in generating our strong sales performance over the past several quarters.

我們的行銷活動始終強調這些關鍵特徵，以推動客戶參與。我們相信，溝通和建立我們在市場上的獨特地位對於我們在過去幾季實現強勁的銷售業績發揮了重要作用。

In the third quarter, we realized a 7.2% daily average comparable store sales growth comprised of a 4.7% increase in transaction count and a 2.4% increase in transaction size. This was the second consecutive quarter with items count growth.

第三季度，我們實現了日均可比商店銷售額增長 7.2%，其中交易數量增長 4.7%，交易規模增長 2.4%。這是商品數量連續第二季成長。

Furthermore, the third quarter represents our fourth consecutive quarter of comparable store sales growth in excess of 6%. Our focus on operational execution, including effectively managing expenses and productivity initiatives once again enabled us to leverage elevated sales trends, resulting in a 100 basis point improvement in the operating margin and a 29% increase in diluted earnings per share.

此外，第三季是我們可比商店銷售額連續第四個季度成長超過 6%。我們對營運執行的關注，包括有效管理費用和生產力計劃，再次使我們能夠利用銷售趨勢的上升，導致營運利潤率提高 100 個基點，稀釋每股收益成長 29%。

These strong results, coupled with our confidence in our business trends and execution, prompted us to increase our fiscal-year 2024 outlook for comparable store sales and diluted earnings per share.

這些強勁的業績，加上我們對業務趨勢和執行力的信心，促使我們提高了 2024 財年可比商店銷售額和稀釋每股收益的預期。

Natural Grocers continues to resonate with a loyal and resilient customer base. Our customers are diverse and range from an older demographic with a relatively higher household income and focus on a healthy lifespan to a younger demographic who prioritizes health and sustainability. We believe that our customers strongly prefer our in-store shopping experience to our online option, which is primarily delivery.

Natural Grocers 繼續與忠誠且富有彈性的客戶群產生共鳴。我們的客戶多種多樣，從家庭收入相對較高、注重健康壽命的老年族群到優先考慮健康和永續發展的年輕族群。我們相信，與主要是送貨服務的線上選擇相比，我們的客戶更喜歡我們的店內購物體驗。

Approximately 98% of our sales occur in-store. Our in-store customer experience is convenient easy to shop, clean and offers friendly and knowledgeable customer service. Our online sales have been relatively stable after normalizing post pandemic.

我們大約 98% 的銷售額發生在店內。我們的店內客戶體驗方便、易於購物、乾淨，並提供友善且知識淵博的客戶服務。疫情後正常化後，我們的線上銷售相對穩定。

The economics of our online offering has improved and is now margin neutral compared to the in-store margin. Our company's fiscal 2024 sales growth, comparable store sales growth, and margin expansion have been driven by in-store sales.

我們線上產品的經濟性有所改善，與店內利潤相比，現在利潤呈現中性。我們公司 2024 財年的銷售成長、可比店面銷售成長和利潤率擴張都是由店內銷售推動的。

Our sales and margin results have not been impacted by the volatility often associated with adding new delivery services or delivery-related promotional incentives.

我們的銷售和利潤表現並未受到通常與增加新的送貨服務或與送貨相關的促銷激勵措施相關的波動的影響。

Turning now to an update on key priorities. We continue to leverage our {N}power Rewards program as reflected in the third quarter net sales penetration of 80%, up from 77% a year ago.

現在轉向關鍵優先事項的最新情況。我們繼續利用我們的{N}power 獎勵計劃，第三季的淨銷售滲透率達到 80%，高於一年前的 77%。

Our Natural Grocers branded products deliver premium quality at compelling prices. In the third quarter, our branded products accounted for 8.5% of total sales, up from 7.6% a year ago.

我們的 Natural Grocers 品牌產品以極具競爭力的價格提供優質產品。第三季度，我們的品牌產品佔總銷售額的8.5%，高於一年前的7.6%。

During the quarter, we launched 33 new Natural Grocers brand items, including a cereal line that is certified organic, certified gluten-free, and crafted in Italy by a fifth generation family business.

本季度，我們推出了 33 個新的 Natural Grocers 品牌產品，其中包括經過有機認證、無麩質認證、由第五代家族企業在義大利製作的穀物食品系列。

Store unit growth and development continues to be a priority for our company. During the third quarter, we relocated one of our Oklahoma City stores and completed major remodels of our Temple, Texas and Independence, Missouri stores. Subsequent to the quarter, we opened a new store in Incline Village, Nevada, which is in the Lake Tahoe area.

商店單位的成長和發展仍然是我們公司的首要任務。在第三季度，我們搬遷了俄克拉荷馬城的一家商店，並完成了德克薩斯州坦普爾和密蘇裡州獨立城商店的重大改造。本季結束後，我們在內華達州太浩湖地區的 Incline Village 開設了一家新店。

In closing, I would like to thank our good4u crew for their commitment to operational excellence and exceptional customer service that were instrumental in driving our strong results. We are fortunate to have a crew who share an affinity for our founding principles and are dedicated to ensuring that our stores, operations, and supply chain reflect these values.

最後，我要感謝我們的 Good4u 團隊致力於卓越營運和卓越的客戶服務，這對於推動我們取得強勁業績發揮了重要作用。我們很幸運，擁有一群熱愛我們的創立原則的團隊，並致力於確保我們的商店、營運和供應鏈體現這些價值。

With that, I will turn our call over to Todd to discuss our financial results and guidance.

接下來，我將把我們的電話轉給托德，討論我們的財務表現和指導。

Thank you, Kemper, and good afternoon. We are very pleased with the continuation of our strong performance through the third quarter. Net sales increased 9.7% from the prior year period to $309.1 million. Daily average comparable store sales increased 7.2% and increased 11.6% on a two-year basis. Our daily average transaction count increased 4.7%. This marks our sixth consecutive quarter with positive customer traffic comps.

謝謝你，肯珀，下午好。我們對第三季繼續保持強勁的業績感到非常高興。淨銷售額較上年同期成長 9.7%，達到 3.091 億美元。日均可比商店銷售額成長 7.2%，較兩年成長 11.6%。我們的每日平均交易筆數增加了 4.7%。這標誌著我們連續第六個季度實現積極的客戶流量比較。

Our daily average transaction size increased 2.4%. About half of the transaction size comp was attributed to an increase in items per basket. This was the second consecutive quarter with an item count increase. Every major product category had an increase in item count. The other half of the transaction size comp was attributed to product cost inflation. We estimate that our annualized cost inflation for the third quarter was approximately 1%.

我們的每日平均交易規模增加了 2.4%。大約一半的交易規模歸因於每籃子商品的增加。這是商品數量連續第二季增加。每個主要產品類別的項目數量都有增加。交易規模的另一半歸因於產品成本通膨。我們估計第三季的年化成本通膨約為 1%。

Sales growth continued to be broad-based across product categories. Our strongest performing departments were meat, dairy, and produce. The dietary supplement sales comp was in the low single digits. Gross margin increased 30 basis points to 29.2%, driven by store occupancy leverage, partially offset by lower product margin, primarily attributable to a lower supplement sales mix.

各產品類別的銷售持續廣泛成長。我們表現最強勁的部門是肉類、乳製品和農產品。膳食補充劑的銷售收入處於較低的個位數。受商店入住率槓桿的推動，毛利率增加了 30 個基點，達到 29.2%，但部分被產品利潤率下降所抵消，這主要歸因於補充劑銷售組合的下降。

Store expenses increased 7.9% in the third quarter, primarily driven by higher compensation expenses. Store expenses, as a percentage of sales, decreased 30 basis points, reflecting expense leverage as elevated sales more than offset higher labor costs. Administrative expenses, as a percentage of sales decreased 20 basis points, reflecting expense leverage.

第三季門市支出成長 7.9%，主要是因為薪資支出增加。商店費用佔銷售額的百分比下降了 30 個基點，反映出費用槓桿，因為銷售額的增加足以抵消勞動成本的上升。管理費用佔銷售額的百分比下降了 20 個基點，反映了費用槓桿。

Operating income increased 41.4% to $12.8 million. The effective tax rate was 21.9% and 14.1% for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily attributable to lower food donation deductions during the third quarter of fiscal 2024.

營業收入成長 41.4%，達到 1,280 萬美元。2024財年和2023財年第三季的有效稅率分別為21.9%和14.1%。有效稅率的增加主要是因為 2024 財年第三季食品捐贈扣除額減少。

Net income was $9.2 million with diluted earnings per share of $0.40 in the third quarter. This compares to net income of $7.1 million or $0.31 of diluted earnings per share in the third quarter of last year. Adjusted EBITDA increased 32.8% to $22.2 million in the third quarter.

第三季淨利為 920 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 0.40 美元。相比之下，去年第三季的淨利潤為 710 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 0.31 美元。第三季調整後 EBITDA 成長 32.8%，達到 2,220 萬美元。

Turning to the balance sheet and cash flow. We ended the third quarter in a strong financial position, including $13.9 million of cash and cash equivalents. We had $16.6 million in outstanding borrowings on our $75 million revolving credit facility.

轉向資產負債表和現金流量。截至第三季末，我們的財務狀況良好，包括 1,390 萬美元的現金和現金等價物。我們的 7,500 萬美元循環信貸額度中有 1,660 萬美元未償還借款。

During the first nine months of fiscal 2024, we generated cash from operations of $49.3 million and invested $31.8 million in net capital expenditures, primarily for new and relocated stores, resulting in free cash flow of $17.5 million.

在2024 財年的前9 個月，我們從營運中產生了4,930 萬美元的現金，並投資了3,180 萬美元的淨資本支出，主要用於新店和搬遷商店，從而產生了1,750 萬美元的自由現金流。

We are raising our fiscal 2024 guidance for daily average comparable store sales growth and diluted earnings per share. Additionally, we are refining our outlook for the number of new stores and relocation remodels and narrowing our capital expenditures range.

我們正在提高 2024 財年每日平均可比較商店銷售成長和稀釋每股盈餘的指導。此外，我們正在完善新店數量和搬遷改造的展望，並縮小資本支出範圍。

Our revised guidance includes the following: open four new stores; relocate or remodel five stores; achieve daily average comparable store sales growth between 6% and 7%; achieved diluted earnings per share between $1.27 and $1.34; and direct $35 million to $39 million towards capital expenditures to support our growth initiatives.

我們修訂後的指導包括以下內容：開設四家新店；搬遷或改造五家商店；實現日均可比門市銷售額成長 6% 至 7%；稀釋後每股收益在 1.27 美元至 1.34 美元之間；並將 3500 萬至 3900 萬美元用於資本支出，以支持我們的成長計劃。

In closing, we had a strong quarter and are encouraged by our operating trends. We are confident in our ability to continue to drive profitable growth and enhance value for all stakeholders.

最後，我們度過了一個強勁的季度，並對我們的營運趨勢感到鼓舞。我們對繼續推動獲利成長並為所有利害關係人提升價值的能力充滿信心。

Now, I would like to open up the lines for questions. Thank you.

現在，我想開放提問專線。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Being no questions, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Kemper Isely for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）既然沒有問題，我們的問答環節就結束了。我想將會議轉回給肯珀艾斯利 (Kemper Isely) 發表閉幕詞。

Thank you very much for joining us to discuss our third-quarter results. This month marks our 69th year serving our communities. I encourage you to visit one of our locations between August 15 and August 17 to help us celebrate our anniversary. We look forward to updating you on our next call regarding the fourth-quarter and full-fiscal year 2024 results. Thank you and goodbye.

非常感謝您加入我們討論我們的第三季業績。這個月是我們為社區服務的第 69 年。我鼓勵您在 8 月 15 日至 17 日期間造訪我們的其中一個地點，幫助我們慶祝週年紀念日。我們期待在下次電話會議上向您通報有關 2024 年第四季和整個財年業績的最新情況。謝謝你，再見。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending the Natural Grocers third-quarter fiscal year 2024 earnings conference call. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加 Natural Grocers 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。您現在可以斷開連線。