Tattooed Chef Inc (TTCF) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good evening and welcome to the Tattooed Chef third-quarter 2022 financial results conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. (Operator Instructions) Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to our host, Devin Sullivan, Investor Relations for Tattooed Chef. Thank you, you may begin.

Thank you, Diego, and thank you, everyone. Good afternoon, and welcome to Tattooed Chef's 2022 third-quarter financial results conference call. On the call today are Sam Galletti, President and Chief Executive Officer; Sarah Galletti, Chief Creative Officer in the Tattooed Chef; and Stephanie Dieckmann, the company's Chief Financial Officer. Matt Williams, Chief Growth Officer, will also be available for questions.

Earlier this afternoon, the company issued its press release, a copy of which is available in the Investors section of our website, www.tattooedchef.com. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that these prepared remarks contain forward-looking statements.

Such statements involve a number of known and unknown uncertainties, many of which are outside the company's control and can cause future results, performance, or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Important factors and risks that could cause or contribute to such differences are detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking or other statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. In addition, within the earnings release and in today's prepared remarks, adjusted EBITDA is referenced.

It is important to note that this is a non-GAAP financial measure and that the company believes it is a useful metric that better reflects the performance of its business on an ongoing basis. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is included in today's press release, which again has been posted to the company's website.

With that said, it is my pleasure to turn the call over to Tattooed Chef's President and Chief Executive Officer, Sam Galletti. Sam, please go ahead.

Thank you, Devin, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today. When we became a publicly traded company in 2020, our mission was clear, drive growth and introduce the Tattooed Chef brand to more customers through diversifying our channel mix. And we did, as evidenced by a three-year revenue CAGR of 29.7% as of Q3 in 2022, a presence at more than 18,000 locations as of September 30 and more than tripling of our branded SKU count.

Through the first nine months of 2022, 100% of our growth was unit driven. That is without the benefit of any price increases. We also invested in expanding our manufacturing capacity four times to approximately 400,000 square feet since 2020 with the closing of our new manufacturing facility in New Mexico.

We are also expanding outside the frozen aisle by introducing products that gain us entry into the refrigerated and ambient food spaces. We know consumers are still looking to introduce more better-for-you food options into their diets. And plant-based foods are an important movement to support this.

We know most importantly, they're looking to experience plant-based foods in a more convenient, economical, and creative way. And Tattooed Chef is in a strong position to support consumers' decision to make an impact on the world through what they eat by offering products in a variety of categories, such as pizza, entrees, handhelds, breakfast, and more. We love what we do. And we know we are making a difference.

We will not run from the challenges we face. I have been in the food industry for 40 years and have seen economic recessions, bubbles and historically low and high rates of inflation. We recognize the world has changed. And we are excited to lay out our plan to address this new reality and generate long-term value for our shareholders.

A confluence of economic factors, specifically inflationary pressures have driven our freight and logistics expenses to historic highs, while broader category headwinds and shifting consumer sentiment have caused us to expand how we operate our business.

We will reduce our cash burn by zeroing out inefficient spending while emphasizing the allocation of resources to areas that elevate the inherent advantages of our vertically integrated operating model and deliver the most impactful and sustainable return on investment.

As we have noted in our recent public announcements, we believe that the steps we are announcing today, in combination with ongoing expansions and efficiency initiatives, will serve to stabilize the business and redefine operating characteristics.

By year end 2023, we believe that we can capture approximately $30 million of cost savings, primarily through a combination of the following, a $15 million reduction in marketing related expenses. In order to support our retail expansion over the last two years, we focused on building brand awareness through targeted advertising campaigns, which allowed us to increase our household awareness to 23% in less than two years.

During this period, we have learned about our consumer, where they shop, what they value, and where they learned about Tattooed Chef brands. Our strategy moving forward will focus on more economical marketing tactics that are closer to the point of purchase to include retail specific trade marketing programs, targeted social campaigns, and retailer-specific influencer campaigns.

In 2023 every marketing dollar will be dedicated to driving trial and repeat purchases of the Tattooed Chef brand. Automation drives savings approximately $6 million compared to no savings that's realized in 2022, primarily driven by a reduction in direct labor, manufacturing yield efficiencies, and increased productivity in our existing footprint. The first production line is delivering to our Paramount, California facility this week. And we are excited to see our planning begin to be implemented on our production floor.

The first line that we are automating is one of the bowl lines that will double the capacity in the same footprint utilizing less labor. Meanwhile, Phase 2 is estimated to be completed by the end of May 2023. We believe we can implement these automation projects without slowing production output. And we'll see incremental efficiency gains throughout the coming quarters until the project is completed.

Savings of approximately $2 million associated with our dedicated in-house cold storage facilities; our year-to-date contracted cold storage spend in 2022 has been $6.7 million; a reduction in promotional programs, contra revenue that are estimated to produce approximately $7 million in cost savings.

As a new brand hitting the shelves over the last two years, we implemented retailer-specific pricing promotional plans to support our launch with our retail partners. We created specific plans that will ensure our success at the shelves, while being in line on our frequency and depth of discount with the competing brands in our space.

Over this period, we have learned a lot about the effectiveness of our promotional spend and required level of discounts to drive category-leading velocities. The insight we have gained will allow us to continue to support our retailers' commitment to the Tattooed Chef brand, while driving efficiency in our trade spend.

We are convinced that the opportunity for long-term sustainable growth is well within our reach. We are committed to the annual cost savings of approximately $30 million in 2023 and positive EBITDA and cash flow from operations by mid-year 2024. These are aggressive goals and we will be accountable to ourselves and to our shareholders for achieving them.

Thank you for your attention,. And I'll now turn things over to Sarah to discuss our innovation and our marketing initiatives. Sarah?

I'm excited about the future of Tattooed Chef. Healthy eating is no longer a fad. It's a way of life. On any given night, millions of plant-based intenders, the 113 million Americans who are looking to get more plant-based foods in their diet are cooking with readymade ingredients favoring Tattooed Chef options.

My ethos for the Tattooed Chef brand was to create delicious, nostalgic, ready-to-eat plant-based food that delivers great nutrition without sacrificing flavor. Through our recent [ANU] study, we know that tastes delicious is the most important attribute consumers are looking for when purchasing a better-for-you frozen product.

And the study showed Tattooed Chef delivers on this claim more than many other competitive brands in our space. In fact, 86% of Tattooed Chef users rate the brand's taste and satisfaction in the top 20 boxes compared with 59% for the broader better-for-you category, further supported by our 57% best-in-class brand loyalty and customer retention, according to a Mindsight study performed on September 9 of this year.

Our products are treated to satisfy every consumer's plant-based diet and carry no judgment with respect to who you are: a vegan, a vegetarian, or a flexitarian, that person who just wants to incorporate plant-based meals into their regular diet.

I'll now turn the conversation over to Stephanie for a discussion of our results. Stephanie?

Good afternoon, everyone. Revenue decreased 6.7% to $54.1 million in the third quarter of 2022 from $58 million in the same period last year. Branded sales declined $10.3 million year over year, partially offset by private-label and other revenue increases of 27.4% or $6.4 million year over year, driven by revenue contributions from our acquisition of Belmont Confections and various New Mexico entities.

The decline in branded sales was driven by a $15 million decline in a Tier 1 club and retail account and a $6.2 million increase in trade, or contra revenue-related expenses, which consisted of a $1.2 million increase in slotting fees as we focus on brand expansion of Tattooed Chef into additional retail stores across the country.

Excluding the impacts from this Tier 1 account and step-up in slotting fees, branded product sales in the third quarter of 2022 increased 17.1% or $5.9 million from the prior year quarter. Private label and other revenue increases were driven by revenue contributions from our acquisition of Belmont Confections and various New Mexico entities.

Tattooed Chef owns or leases approximately 400,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity. And we will continue to leverage this differentiated operating asset to grow revenue and fill plant capacity. As Sam referenced earlier, inflation has had a significant impact on our operating results in 2022, even more evident in the third-quarter result.

Cost increases were broad based spanning labor, freight, facility-related charges, energy costs, equipment, and supply-related expenses. With that said, in the third quarter of 2022, cost of goods sold rose 9.4% to $58 million, up from $53 million in the third quarter of 2021. As a reminder, freight and shipping costs are above the line on our P&L and directly impact our gross margin.

We are focused and aware of these cost increases and controlling costs where possible. In addition, our first price increase of 10% on Tattooed Chef-branded products took place at the end of September. Gross loss was $3.9 million in third quarter of 2022 compared to a gross profit of $5 million in the third quarter 2021.

The decline in profitability was driven by the above referenced, broad-based inflationary pressures on cost of goods sold and inflated trade or contra revenue spend as retail distribution points continue to grow, causing a near-term headwind to profitability. Freight and labor expenses increased to 34.1% of net revenue as compared to 24.9% in the prior year period.

With the ongoing vertical integration initiatives and continued brand growth, these costs are expected to decline as a percentage of sales, which should lead to improved gross margins. Operating expenses rose 146.8% to $31.6 million for the third quarter 2022 from $12.8 million in third quarter 2021, reflecting ongoing investments in the Tattooed Chef brands, sales channel expansion, and higher public company costs.

The year-over-year increases were due primarily to a $7 million increase in stock-based compensation expense, a $4.6 million increase in marketing and promotional expenses, a $2.5 million increase in outside services, a $2 million increase in payroll expenses, and a $0.7 million increase in facility expenses.

Net loss in the third quarter of 2022 was $38.5 million or negative $0.46 per diluted share as compared to a net loss of $8.2 million or negative $0.10 per diluted share in third quarter 2021. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $25.5 million in the third quarter 2022 compared to adjusted EBITDA loss of $5.1 million in third quarter 2021.

With respect to our balance sheet, at September 30, 2022, cash was $14.2 million. Debt on our line of credit was approximately $20 million. Net cash used in operating activities for the three months ended September 30, 2022, was $17.2 million.

In the third quarter of 2022, non-cash expense add-backs were $12.9 million, while cash generated from working capital was $8.4 million of accounts payable. Accrued expenses, and other current liabilities generated $14.7 million. Accounts receivable generated $7.9 million. Prepaid expenses and other assets generated $0.9 million, which was partially offset by cash consumed from inventory of $15 million.

Capital expenditures during third-quarter 2022 were $14.5 million and primarily reflected the purchase of new manufacturing and storage equipment in our new 80,000 square foot manufacturing facility in New Mexico and additional automation equipment related to our Paramount, California location.

As covered above, the company accessed approximately $20 million on the $40 million UMB asset-based lending line to fund the asset purchase in New Mexico and other capital expenditures. As a reminder, the UMB line matures in September 2025. As covered above and in our press release last week, we have revised our 2022 outlook for revenue and gross margin.

We expect sales for the year to be $235 million to $245 million and gross margins to be 0% to 3%; the modifications in consumer buying behavior in response to historically high inflation levels; the headwind from a Tier 1 club and retail accounts; higher trade, or contra revenue from the change in technical accounting treatment related to the multi-vendor mailer at our Tier 1 club retailer; and a near term step-up in slotting fees as retail distribution growth was stronger than originally anticipated at the start of 2022 all negatively impacted our revenue guidance and gross margins.

As Sam noted, we are shifting our focus to profitability and lowering cash burn. We will continue to invest in the business to support strategic growth opportunities as well as cost saving initiatives. With that in mind, marketing expenses are still expected to total $27 million to $32 million for the year. And next year this will be reduced to $12 million to $17 million.

Our CapEx outlook remains at approximately $20 million for 2022, with the new Q3 acquisition of the New Mexico manufacturing facility accounting for approximately $11 million. Excluding the asset purchase, capital expenditures through the first nine months of 2022 totaled $19.1 million. As noted in our press release, the company intends to raise additional debt for equity capital in the near future.

I thank you for your attention. And I'll turn the conversation back to Sam.

Thanks, Stephanie. Let's open the call up for questions from our analysts.

(Operator Instructions) Cody Ross, UBS.

Good evening, thank you for taking our questions. First question, as headwinds in your Tier 1 account, can you just provide a little more color on what was the nature of the weakness? Do you think this is one-time in nature? Or is this something that should continue to persist through the fourth quarter and into next year?

We think that it's going to push through partially into the fourth quarter. We expect some of those things to be removed in Q1 2023. We will release our 2023 guidance when we do our year-end earnings call. But we are optimistic.

Okay. And then as far as your decision to pivot to a focus on profits and cash flow generation, certainly appreciate that in this rising interest rate environment. Can you just talk about your sales strategy and ability to grow sales at the rate that you historically have, if you will be pulling back on marketing expenses going forward?

Hi, Cody, this is Matt Williams. I obviously was not part of the initial remarks. So our strategy is really focused on winning with the customers that we are doing business with today. We're obviously now a national brand. We have achieved varying levels of distribution with those retailers across the country like Walmart, and Target, Kroger for that matter.

And so what we're really focused on is now that we know where the customer is learning about our products and how they engage with the brand, which is really at store level, we think that the investments we've made in marketing will really kind of allow that kind of connection to the brand to continue.

And so what we're very focused on is really optimizing our existing portfolio with our core customers. So as an example, we're in 1,800 stores with Target on two of our core SKUs, which is cauliflower mac and cheese bowl and burrito bowl. But we're only in 1,200 stores with our third ranked SKU and our fourth rank SKU.

So we believe there's an opportunity for growth by really kind of focusing on optimizing our core portfolio and leveraging the consumer connection and how we connect to the brand in that space by really optimizing our existing portfolio.

Okay. And then one last question, if I can sneak it in. You mentioned raising capital in the near future. Can you just talk about your preference, whether this be debt or equity, potential dilution, and how we should think about that going forward? And I'll pass it on. Thank you.

So I want to remind everyone that Sam is the largest shareholder in existence at the moment. We will always measure the potential dilution against the return that we expect to achieve with any new capital. We're going to give ourselves as much of a runway as we can through cost-saving initiatives, efficiency gains, and price increases.

We're currently working actively on multiple financing tracks. We will provide more clarity when we have more to share. But we are open to options at this moment in time. And we are gathering information.

(Operator Instructions) George Kelly, ROTH Capital.

Hey, everybody. Thanks for taking my questions. So first one, I'm going back to just try to ask a similar question that was just asked from the previous questioner, but I'm still a little unclear. So I just wanted to ask again. The sales outlook change was about $40 million for this year. And I'm still just kind of unclear on exactly the breakdown of what that's coming from.

So if you could maybe say it one more time, just as far as this Tier 1 customer, are they pulling your products? Or is it really just about really consumer behavior has changed rapidly, unexpectedly, or anything else you can provide just to give me some clarity on exactly what's going on.

We briefly mentioned it during the Q2 earnings call. Sam's Club does not have as many Tattooed Chef items or one-time promotions as they did in prior years. And we were aware of that. That's part of the loss that occurred within the revenue. Tattooed Chef brand did grow in size even with that happening. But it was $15 million in revenue that occurred in 2021 that we did not see in 2022. And that was a planned thing that Sam's Club was planning on. One of the items went private label; a couple of the everyday items, honestly, just ran their course. They've been on shelf for multiple years. And it's what happens. But it's one of those things in which we have reestablished our relationship with them.

And we're hopeful in the future that we will continue to do business with them and move forward from that. But we are continuing to expand into retail chain and really diversify our customer portfolio so that we are not overly reliant on any one customer.

And George, this is Matt. If I could add, I mean, we really also did reset our business with Walmart. So with Walmart, we had SKUs in there that were not the most productive SKUs in our portfolio in categories that were not kind of our core categories. And so we went to them with a proposal to actually reset the business in terms of going after the core categories that are performing best for us, which is really, primarily the offering is now entrée bowls.

And so there was a little bit of a timing impact in terms of the lost sales of one reset that took place in one category, which was veg and then the new reset that just took place, which is in the frozen new lifestyle set. And so net-net, we gained stores. Net-net, we gained SKUs.

We know that the SKUs that we now have on shelf are going to be significantly more productive. But there was a slight timing -- there was a timing issue that led to this kind of gap in revenue that we will see cycle itself out as we move into 2023.

Okay, that's helpful. Thank you. And then second question on your liquidity. So could you walk through -- I understand there's $14 million of cash. Is the remaining amount, that $20 million on your credit facility, is that fully available?

And then the third part of the question is outside of that cash in that facility -- and I understand you just mentioned the debt and equity raise, but I'm not talking about that -- are there any other sources of liquidity? Maybe it's inventory -- you think you could draw down on inventory or there's other asset sales you're considering? Just could you walk through that near-term liquidity?

We have a great relationship with UMB. I want to make that abundantly clear; we have a great relationship with them. They formally invested in the company a few years ago and became an owner. And they have since brought down some of their ownership due to FDA rules and things of that nature. But they remain a great partner with us.

As far as other places that we can generate cash from, inventory is absolutely high on our list. It's one of the things in which we are highly focused on. Our inventory values, we do expect to pull down in the coming quarters and be able to utilize that as part of our cash basis, that adds to our liquidity.

We are evaluating other means like going through as we do automation and looking at equipment that is no longer functional for us. And whether that would go to another facility or if we would actually go out and sell pieces of equipment that are no longer functional to the operation, those are things that we look at. There's a lot of places that we have that we can pull from. And we're evaluating those every day.

Okay, and then last one for me is just about if we go to early 2023 and some of these initiatives are more fully put in place, I guess. I'm thinking of the automation. And you've taken pricing. And so that's fully played through.

What is the kind of go-forward gross margin as you see it now? I know there's a lot of moving parts, but if you could just high level provide a go forward that we should hit in early mid-2023, that would be helpful.

The only answer I can give you right now, George, is positive. Positive gross margin is going to be the simplest answer. We'll provide guidance for 2023 with year-end earnings report and possibly before then.

Right now we're busy running and making sure that all of our processes and our initiatives are running smoothly. And we really want to make sure that before we go out to the market and tell you and the world that everything is lining up the way that we want it to before we quote exact numbers.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'll hand the floor back to management for closing remarks.

Thank you, everyone, for your participation today. We look forward to speaking with you all soon and keeping you apprised of our progress. Have a great day.

Thank you. This concludes today's conference. All parties may disconnect. Have a great day.