Star Metro - The Fresh Factory Reports Record Billed Revenue & EBITDA in Q1 2025

CAROL STREAM, IL / ACCESS Newswire / May 15, 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 first quarter ending March 31, 2025 ("Q1 2025").

"We're incredibly proud to report our strongest quarter to date, driven by the disciplined execution of our team and momentum across our platform," said Bill Besenhofer, CEO and co-founder of The Fresh Factory. "With production now live at our Downers Grove facility and expanded capabilities in our snack-bites line, we're positioned for a new phase of responsible growth. As we look ahead, our focus remains on scaling efficiently, supporting our brand partners, and delivering fresh, better-for-you innovation."

Financial and Operational Highlights: Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024

• Record Billed Revenue: $10.7M (CAD $15.2M) in Q1 2025 vs. $8.4M (CAD $12.0M) in Q1 2024, a 27% increase.

• Record Positive EBITDA: $0.9M (CAD $1.2M) in Q1 2025 vs. $0.3M (CAD $0.4M) in Q1 2024.

• Net Income: $284,406 (CAD $403,857) in Q1 2025 compared to a net loss of $107,403 (CAD $155,512) in Q1 2024.

• Adjusted Gross Margins: $4.4M (CAD $6.2M) in Q1 2025, a 47% increase from $3.0M (CAD $4.3M) in Q1 2024.

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.

• The Company achieved a record positive EBITDA of $0.9M (CAD $1.2M) in Q1 2025.

• Adjusted gross margins increased to $4.4M (CAD $6.2M) for Q1 2025, compared to $3.0M (CAD $4.3M) for Q1 2024.

• Adjusted gross margins, as a percentage, were 41% for Q1 2025, versus 36% for Q1 2024.

• Operating profit on a dollar basis increased by $0.7M (CAD $0.9M) for Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024.

• Operating profit on a percentage basis increased to 22% in Q1 2025, compared to 20% in Q1 2024, driven by increased sales volume and production efficiencies.

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

• Billed revenue for Q1 2025 was $10.7M (CAD $15.2M), compared to $8.4M (CAD $12.0M) in Q1 2024.

• The Company's Q1 2025 billed revenue grew 27% YOY, driven by new customers onboarded in 2024 and increased demand from existing customers.

• The Company produced 15.7M units in Q1 2025, a 197% increase from Q1 2024 and a 79% increase from Q4 2024.

• During Q1 2025, the Company completed the build-out of and started production at and shipping from its new Downers Grove facility.

• The Company expanded its capacity and improved the packaging capabilities of its snack-bites line.

• The Company successfully completed a $3.0M USD private-placement funding initiative to support business growth and development.

Sustainability: Become a market leader in sustainability.

• The Company partnered with Planet FWD to advance its sustainability initiatives.

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

• In April, just subsequent to the quarter's end, the Company passed its annual SQF (Safe Quality Food) audit at its Carol Stream production facility with a score of 98%.

The Fresh Factory also shares that John Mikulich will be stepping down as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective May 31, 2025, as he pursues new opportunities. As part of a planned succession, Mike Weglarz, who has been with the Company since its founding, will assume the role of CFO and Head of Strategic Growth.

"We're deeply grateful to John for his many contributions during a critical phase of our growth," said Bill Besenhofer, Chief Executive Officer. "His leadership played an important role in shaping the foundation we're building on today, and we wish him continued success in what's next. As Mike steps into the role, his longstanding involvement and strategic insight position him well to help lead our next chapter."

The Company also announces the grant of an aggregate of 200,000 stock options to Mr. Weglarz at an exercise price of US $1.00 per common share. The options will expire four years from the date of grant and vest 25% on the first anniversary of the grant date, with the remaining options vesting in equal monthly installments through the fourth anniversary.

This earnings news release should be read in conjunction with the Company's interim financial statements for the first quarter ending March 31, 2025 (the "Interim 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

A.Gagnon--SMC