Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. Reports First Quarter Operating Results
Fri July 12, 2019 8:00 AM|Accesswire|About: RMCF, SWRL
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (RMCF) (the “Company”) today reported its operating results for the three months ended May 31, 2019. The Company franchises and operates gourmet chocolate and confection stores and self-serve frozen yogurt cafés, and manufactures an extensive line of premium chocolates and other confectionery products.
FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Total revenue increased 0.7 percent to $8.43 million during the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to $8.37 million during the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Same-store pounds of product purchased from the Company’s factory by franchisees and co-branded licensees decreased 5.7 percent during the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Net income increased 23.3 percent to $712,000, or $0.12 per basic share and $0.11 per diluted share, in the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to net income of $577,000, or $0.10 per basic share and diluted share, in the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Operating income increased 20.8 percent to $946,000 in the three months ended May 31, 2019, compared to operating income of $783,000 during the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure defined later in this release) increased 26.1 percent to $1.8 million in the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to $1.4 million in the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Factory sales increased 0.8 percent during the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to the three months ended May 31, 2018, primarily due to a 2.0 percent increase in sales of product to our network of franchised and licensed retail stores partially offset by a 2.1 percent decrease in shipments of product to customers outside our network of franchised retail stores.
Royalty and marketing fees increased 9.9 percent in the three months ended May 31, 2019, primarily due to higher royalty revenue associated with the Company’s purchase based royalty structure partially offset by a 5.0 percent decrease in the number of domestic franchised locations in operation during the three months ended May 31, 2019, compared to the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Franchise fees increased 14.1 percent in the three months ended May 31, 2019, the result of an increase in revenue resulting from store closures and the termination of any future contract liability associated with the closure.
The Company’s franchisees and licensees opened one Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchised location, four Cold Stone Creamery co-branded locations and one U-Swirl (SWRL) franchised café during the three months ended May 31, 2019.
On June 14, 2019, the Company paid its 64th consecutive quarterly cash dividend to shareholders, in the amount of $0.12 per share.
FIRST QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS
Total revenue increased 0.7 percent to $8.43 million during the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to $8.37 million during the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Total factory sales increased 0.8 percent to $5.61 million in the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to $5.56 million in the three months ended May 31, 2018. The increase was primarily due to a 2.0 percent increase in sales of product to our network of franchised and licensed retail stores partially offset by a 2.1 percent decrease in shipments of product to customers outside our network of franchised retail stores. Factory gross margins decreased 40 basis points to 22.8 percent of factory sales in the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to 23.2 percent in the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Retail sales decreased to $855,000 in the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to $1.0 million in the three months ended May 31, 2018. This change was primarily the result of the closure of certain underperforming Company-owned locations during the prior fiscal year. Same-store sales at all Company-owned stores and cafés increased 2.4 percent during the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Royalty and marketing fees increased 9.9 percent to $1.9 million in the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to $1.7 million in the three months ended May 31, 2018, primarily due to higher royalty revenue associated with the Company’s purchase based royalty structure partially offset by a 5.0 percent decrease in the number of domestic franchise stores and cafés in operation resulting from domestic store closures exceeding domestic store openings. The Company’s franchisees and licensees opened one Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchised location, four Cold Stone Creamery co-branded locations and one U-Swirl franchised café during the three months ended May 31, 2019. Complete lists of stores and cafés currently in operation are available on the Company’s websites at www.rmcf.com and www.u-swirl.com.
Franchise fees increased 14.1 percent to $106,000 in the three months ended May 31, 2019 compared to $93,000 in the three months ended May 31, 2018, as a result of an increase in revenue resulting from store closures and the termination of any future contract liability associated with the closure.
Income from operations increased 20.8 percent in the three months ended May 31, 2019 to $946,000 compared to $783,000 in the three months ended May 31, 2018.
The Company’s effective income tax rate in the three months ended May 31, 2019 and 2018 was 24.6 percent.
Net income increased 23.3 percent to $712,000, or $0.12 per basic share and $0.11 per diluted share, in the three months ended May 31, 2019, compared to net income of $577,000, or $0.10 per basic and diluted share, in the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure defined later in this release) increased 26.1 percent for the three months ended May 31, 2019 to $1.8 million compared to $1.4 million for the three months ended May 31, 2018.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, is computed by adding depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expenses, costs associated with store closures, and costs associated with the evaluation of strategic alternatives to GAAP income from operations.
This non-GAAP financial measure may have limitations as an analytical tool, and this measure should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of results as reported under GAAP. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional analytical information on the nature of ongoing operations excluding expenses not expected to recur in future periods, non-cash charges and variations in the effective tax rate among periods. For example, the Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors because it provides a measure of operating performance and its ability to generate cash that is unaffected by non-cash accounting measures and non-recurring expenses. However, due to these limitations, the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of performance only in conjunction with GAAP measures of performance such as income from operations and net income. Reconciliations of this non-GAAP measure to its most comparable GAAP measure are included below.
Cash Dividends
On June 14, 2019, the Company paid its 64th consecutive quarterly cash dividend to shareholders, in the amount of $0.12 per share.
About Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., headquartered in Durango, Colorado, is an international franchiser of gourmet chocolate, confection and self-serve frozen yogurt stores and a manufacturer of an extensive line of premium chocolates and other confectionery products. As of July 12, 2019, the Company, through its subsidiaries and its franchisees and licensees operated 441 Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and self-serve frozen yogurt stores in 39states, Canada, South Korea, Qatar, the Republic of Panama, and The Republic of the Philippines. The Company’s common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “RMCF.”
