Star Metro - The Fresh Factory Reports Fiscal 2024 Results with Record Annual Total Billed Revenue of $32.9M

CAROL STREAM, IL / ACCESS Newswire / March 21, 2025 / The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd. (TSXV:FRSH)(FRA:Q4Z) ("The Fresh Factory" or the "Company"), a mission-driven company for fresh, clean-label, and better-for-you food and beverage brands, is pleased to announce financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 ("Q4 2024" and "Fiscal 2024," respectively).

"2024 was a pivotal year for The Fresh Factory as we continued to execute on our growth strategy, driving record revenue while improving operational efficiency and our bottom line," said Bill Besenhofer, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder. "We successfully strengthened our foundation by expanding our capabilities, optimizing production, and launching innovative new products. With the upcoming launch of our expanded facility, we are well-positioned to scale further and support the growing demand for fresh, clean-label, better-for-you food and beverage products. As we move into 2025, our focus remains on disciplined execution, continued growth with our customers, and sustained profitability."

Financial Highlights: Fiscal 2024 vs. Fiscal 2023

• Record billed revenue was $32.9M (CAD $47M) in Fiscal 2024 compared to $23.7M (CAD $33.9M) in Fiscal 2023, an increase of 39%. This increase was mainly due to sales to existing strategic partners across various categories.

• Adjusted EBITDA was $2.5M (CAD $3.6M) or 7.6% of total revenue for Fiscal 2024 vs. $(0.5)M (CAD $(0.7)M) or -2.0% of total revenue for Fiscal 2023.

• Adjusted gross margins were $12.0M (CAD $17.1M) in Fiscal 2024 vs. $6.6M (CAD $9.4M) in Fiscal 2023, a year-over-year increase of 81.8%.

Financial and Operational Highlights: Q4 2024 vs Q4 2023

• Record billed revenue: $8.9M (CAD $12.7M) in Q4 2024 vs. $6.5M (CAD $9.3M) in Q4 2023, a 38.0% increase.

• EBITDA: $(0.5)M (CAD $(0.7)M) in Q4 2024 vs. $(0.3)M (CAD $(0.4)M) in Q4 2023.

• Net income: $(1.1)M (CAD $(1.5)M) in Q4 2024 compared to a net loss of $(0.8)M (CAD $(1.1)M) in Q4 2023.

• Adjusted gross margins: $3.1M (CAD $4.4M) in Q4 2024, an 86.0% increase from $1.7M (CAD $2.4M) in Q4 2023.

Strategic Areas of Focus

The Fresh Factory is building a platform to serve emerging food and beverage brands in the fresh-food sector with an emphasis on better-for-you products. The Company has established the following three key areas of focus on which it will report on a quarterly basis moving forward.

Execution: Focus on safety, high-quality operations, and strong margins.

• Adjusted gross margins increased to $3.1M (CAD $4.4M) for Q4 2024 compared to $1.7M (CAD $2.4M) for Q4 2023 and increased by $5.4M (CAD $7.7M) YTD 2024 compared to YTD 2023.

• Adjusted gross margins, on a percentage basis, were 34.4% for Q4 2024 compared to 25.6% for Q4 2023 and 36.0% YTD 2024 compared to 27.9% YTD 2023.

• Operating profit on a dollar basis increased by $0.8M (CAD $1.1M) for Q4 2024 vs Q4 2023 and $3.9M (CAD $5.6M) YTD 2024 vs YTD 2023.

• Operating profit on a percentage basis increased to 12.2% in Q4 2024, compared to 5.3% in Q4 2023, driven by increased sales volume and production efficiencies.

Growth: Invest in and grow with the right brands across diversified channels.

• Billed revenue for Q4 2024 was $8.9M (CAD $12.7M), compared to $6.5M (CAD $9.3M) in Q4 2023.

• The Company's Q4 2024 billed revenue grew 38.0% YOY, driven by new customers onboarded in mid-2024 and increased demand from existing customers.

• The Company produced 28.4M units in 2024, a 54% increase from 2023.

• During the quarter, the Company continued its progress toward opening its previously leased facility in Downers Grove, IL. While construction of the production area continued, office staff were able to move into the new office space.

• The Company successfully completed trials for new customers that would start shipping in the first quarter of 2025.

• The Company successfully launched smoothies as a complement to its cold-pressed juices and wellness shots.

Sustainability: Become a market leader in sustainability.

• The Company purchased 3.76M pounds of produce seconds, a year-over-year increase of 41%.

• The Company expanded its full-time employees in 2024 by 35%.

• The Company continued to compost 100% of its food waste and donate 100% of its produce extras.

• Energy & Water Management Project: The Company upgraded its HVAC systems to improve energy efficiency and installed a water chiller to optimize water consumption and efficiency.

• Supply Chain Management & Sourcing Project: The Company implemented route optimization strategies to reduce emissions and improve logistics efficiency.

• Food & Packaging Waste Reduction Project: The Company expanded the use of reusable plastic totes throughout its facilities to reduce single-use packaging. It also continued to compost 100% of its food waste and donate 100% of produce extras.

On December 2, 2024, The Fresh Factory renewed its normal course issuer bid ("NCIB"), allowing the Company to repurchase up to 3,968,041 outstanding Subordinate Voting Shares over the 12-month period ending December 1, 2025. In Fiscal 2024, the Company repurchased 298,600 Subordinate Voting Shares at a weighted average price of $0.60 per share, compared to 131,500 Subordinate Voting Shares at $0.55 per share in Fiscal 2023.

This earnings news release should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2024 (the "Audited Financial Statements") and the related Management's Discussion and Analysis (the "MD&A"); both documents are available to download on The Fresh Factory's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

For conversion purposes, this release used $0.70 as the conversion rate from CAD to USD.

All figures in this news release are in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

About The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd.

The Fresh Factory is a vertically integrated company focused on accelerating the growth of the fresh, clean-label, plant-based food and beverage brands of tomorrow. The Fresh Factory owns or partners with emerging brands in the plant-based space to develop, manufacture, and sell products made from fresh produce and recognizable ingredients. It operates from its centrally located manufacturing facility near Chicago, serving customers across the United States. As a public benefits corporation, The Fresh Factory is ESG-focused, driven to make a lighter, greener impact on the environment and a stronger, positive impact on local communities and the food system as a whole. Learn more about The Fresh Factory at www.thefreshfactory.co and find The Fresh Factory on social media at Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Contacts

Bill Besenhofer
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
1-877-495-1638
[email protected]

Susan Xu
Media and Investor Relations
1-877-495-1638
[email protected]

Non-IFRS Measures

There are measures included in this news release that do not have a standardized meaning under international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and therefore may not be comparable to similarly titled measures and metrics presented by other publicly traded companies. The Company includes these measures because it believes certain investors use them as a means of assessing financial performance. Billed revenue, adjusted gross margin, operating profit, EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA are financial measures that do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS. EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, one-time transaction expenses, and change in fair value of derivative liabilities. Adjusted gross margin is defined as billed revenue minus food, packaging, and labor (i.e., COGs). Operating profit is adjusted gross margin less utilities, facilities, and maintenance costs. Billed revenue is a financial measure defined as the revenue billed to customers as opposed to total revenue, which represents billed revenue less trade and variable selling and any production credits and samples.

We prepare and release quarterly unaudited and annual audited financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. We also disclose and discuss certain non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial information used to evaluate our performance in this and other earnings releases and investor conference calls as a complement to results provided in accordance with IFRS. We believe that current shareholders and potential investors in the Company use non-GAAP financial measures, such as billed revenue, adjusted gross margin, operating profit, EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA in making investment decisions about the Company and measuring its operational results.

Management believes that investors and financial analysts measure our business on the same basis, and we are providing the billed revenue, adjusted gross margin, operating profit, EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA as financial metrics to assist in this evaluation and to provide a higher level of transparency into how we measure our own business.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to hereafter as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements that address activities, events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will, or may, occur in the future, including statements about the Company's new product offerings, its ability to execute on its goals, general macro and micro economic impacts of inflation on the business and operation of the Company, the timing pertaining to these goals and receipt of applicable consents and approvals, and Company's business prospects, future trends, plans, and strategies. In some cases, forward-looking statements are preceded by, followed by, or include words such as "may", "will," "would", "could", "should", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "expects", "plans", "intends", "proposes", "anticipates", "targeted", "continues", "forecasts", "designed", "goal", "anticipate" or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. Although the management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company, as well as trends identified by the Company affecting its industry, can be found in the final long-form prospectus of the Company dated November 10, 2021, and the Company's continuous disclosure record available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Such cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements made in this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

F.Davis--SMC