First net profit since 2nd Qtr of 2016!
FitLife Brands Announces First Quarter 2018 Results
Business Wire Business Wire•May 16, 2018
OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
FitLife Brands, Inc. (“FitLife”) (FTLF), an international provider of innovative and proprietary nutritional supplements for health conscious consumers marketed under the brand names NDS Nutrition Products™ ("NDS") (www.ndsnutrition.com), PMD® (www.pmdsports.com), SirenLabs® (www.sirenlabs.com), CoreActive® (www.coreactivenutrition.com), Metis Nutrition™ (www.metisnutrition.com), iSatori™ (www.isatori.com), Energize (www.tryenergize.com), and BioGenetic Laboratories (www.biogeneticlabs.com), today announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2018, total revenue was $4.6 million compared to $5.6 million reported in the first quarter of 2017. The decline in revenue was primarily attributable to declining foot traffic trends and lower unit sales in our primary distribution channel worsened by certain inventory adjustments by our largest customer in response to such trends. Moreover, continued general weakness at retail and the reduced effectiveness of our distribution partners outside GNC also contributed to revenue declines during the period. Despite lower revenue, gross profit was relatively flat for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018 at $1.9 million versus $1.9 million during the comparable period last year. Gross margin was 41.5% for the quarter versus 34.4% during the comparable period last year, which was negatively impacted by the $0.7 million non-recurring margin support agreement with our largest customer. Absent that charge, gross margin for the three-month period ended March 31, 2017 would have been 41.7%. Total operating expenses were down more than $0.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 versus the comparable period a year ago driven by the Company’s ongoing initiatives to reduce costs and maximize efficiency. We posted a net profit, our first since the second quarter of 2016, of $0.2 million for the quarter versus a loss of $(0.3) million during the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA, which adds back interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and non-cash equity issuance costs for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018 was $0.3 million as compared to $(0.2) million for the comparable period last year. The Company ended the first quarter with $0.6 million in cash versus $1.3 million at the same time a year ago.
“The first quarter saw the Company achieve several critical milestones. To begin, we posted our first quarterly profit since the second quarter of 2016, driven by more frequent and significant purchasing activity from our largest customer. We still have a long way to go, but I am optimistic that the recent improvement, in concert with our commitment to a strong partnership with our largest customer, will continue to positively impact the business throughout 2018 and beyond. Second, we began factoring select receivables during the quarter, which has provided the Company with enhanced liquidity and, perhaps more importantly, enabled the Company to pay-off all remaining debt obligations and end the quarter debt-free,” stated Dayton Judd, Interim Chief Executive Officer of FitLife Brands. “Finally, we successfully launched our first storefront on Amazon during the quarter. While still very early in the process, an enhanced emphasis on online sales is a major element of our new omni-channel strategy, which, if successful, will enable us to better support and protect all our brands while providing opportunities for revenue growth and margin expansion for the business. While significant challenges remain, we are beginning to see improving trends both at a macro-level and in the results of our largest customer. We remain committed to building on these trends to bring stability and growth potential back to the Company,” concluded Mr. Judd.
About FitLife Brands
FitLife Brands is a developer and marketer of innovative and proprietary nutritional supplements for health conscious consumers. FitLife markets over 80 different dietary supplements to promote sports nutrition, improved performance, weight management and general health primarily through domestic and international GNC® franchise locations as well as through more than 25,000 additional domestic retail locations and online. FitLife is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. For more information please visit our website at www.fitlifebrands.com.
