The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd. V.FRSH

FRSH Reports Strong Q3 2022 Results - Highest Ever Quarterly

[ndiamond]

Fresh Factory  keeps looking better and better.   And it is trading very cheap for a company posting these types of financial results.   Buy and Hold.

The Fresh Factory Reports Strong Q3 2022 Results with its Highest Ever Quarterly Revenue

• Eighth consecutive quarter of record billed revenue of $5.66M in Q3 2022 ($7.85M CAD), compared to $3.48M ($4.82M CAD) in Q3 2021, representing a YoY increase of 63%
• Year-to-date billed revenue of $14.38M ($19.93M CAD), a YoY increase of 44%
• Year-to-date net revenue of $13.77M ($19.09M CAD), compared to $9.40M ($13.03M CAD) in the nine months ending Q3 2021, representing a YoY increase of 47%

CAROL STREAM, IL / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2022 / The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd. (CSE: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, reports financial results for the three and nine months ending September 30, 2022.

Bill Besenhofer, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of The Fresh Factory, commented: "Our third quarter results continue to showcase a successful positive trend, with our eighth consecutive quarter of record billed revenue, driven by an increase in demand from new customers and organic growth. In this quarter alone, we achieved 20% organic growth as we quickly became the partner of choice for some of the top fresh, clean-label, and better-for-you food and beverage companies in North America. We also continued to expand our manufacturing capabilities, installing new equipment to meet the diverse and growing needs of our customers. These new capital investments will improve not only our process efficiencies and product quality but also our revenue and operating cash flow. Finally, due to the heightened demand for innovation and scale in the better-for-you category, we also leased an additional 10,000 square feet of dry storage for ingredients and finished goods."

Mr. Besenhofer added: "Our differentiation sets us apart from our competitors: we are a fully integrated platform that can meet our customers' needs across diverse categories - quality and safety, buying power for ingredient and package sourcing, and distribution. With upward inflationary pressure, customers are turning to The Fresh Factory as a ‘one-stop shop' to streamline the entire process, from formulation to the end consumer. As more and more people are taking charge of their health and well-being, we are confident in our ability to grow and create meaningful value for our shareholders."

Financial Highlights: YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2021

• Record billed revenue of $14.38M ($19.93M CAD) in YTD 2022 vs. $9.96M ($13.80M CAD) for YTD 2021, an increase of 44%, driven by onboarding new customers and organic growth
• Adjusted EBITDA of $(1.29)M ($(1.79)M CAD) YTD 2022 was ~$0.9M unfavorable to previous year materially driven by 2021 change in fair value of derivative liability. Except for the change of derivative liability, Adjusted EBITDA was materially flat YoY
• Adjusted gross margins were $3.95M ($5.47M CAD) in YTD 2022 vs. $3.26 ($4.53M CAD) in YTD 2021

Financial and Operational Highlights: Q3 2022 vs Q2 2022

• Record billed revenue of $5.66M ($7.85M CAD) in Q3 2022 vs. $4.85M ($6.73M CAD) for Q2 2022, an increase of 17%
• Adjusted EBITDA of $(0.36)M ($(0.51)M CAD) in Q3 2022 vs. $(0.47)M ($(0.65)M CAD) in Q2 2022, a decrease of 23%
• Adjusted gross margins were $1.54M ($2.13M CAD) in Q3 2022 vs. $1.37M ($1.89M CAD) in Q2 2022
• As of November 22, 2022, the Company has purchased a total of 85,500 of the eligible 542,335 common shares at a cost of $58,696, representing a weighted average price of $0.69 per share under its Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB")

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 brands. The Company has established four 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, on a percentage basis, decreased by 1% from 28% in Q2 2022 to 27% in Q3 2022
• Operating profits increased 0.1% to $0.62M ($0.86M CAD) in Q3 2022 from $0.62M ($0.86M CAD) in Q2 2022
• Operating profit, on a percentage basis, decreased from 15.8% in Q2 2022 to 11.0% in Q3 2022 due to inflationary pressures and costs related to scaling the business
• The Company will focus on improving operating profits in Q4 2022 and into the first half of 2023

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

• Revenue in Q3 2022 continues to remain broadly diversified across direct-to-consumer, quick-service restaurants, retail customers, and food-service customers
• The Company successfully expanded its manufacturing capabilities and its capacity throughout the third quarter by installing new equipment to support growth across multiple customer segments
• The Company produced 1.58M pounds of food in Q3 of 2022, a 24% increase from Q2 2022

Brand Portfolio: Build meaningful equity participation in the sector

• The Company continues to invest in its two wholly owned brands, FIELD + FARMER and Element Pressed
• The Company's wholly owned brand FIELD + FARMER successfully completed a rotation of its plant-based fresh snack bars in Costco Midwest
• The Company's wholly owned brand FIELD + FARMER won a December 2022/January 2023 rotation with Costco Texas for its plant-based Caramelized Onion Party Dip

Sustainability: Become a market leader in sustainability

• The Company enrolled in an Illinois State Community Solar project where it will receive a portion of the energy that the solar project produces each month. Beginning in January 2023, the portion of energy that comes from the solar farm will come back to the Company in the form of Renewable Energy Credits each month which will help offset their emissions
• The Company continues to compost 100% of its food waste and donate 100% of produce extras
• The Company's wholly owned FIELD + FARMER brand donated 1% of sales each month

The earnings news release should be read in conjunction with the Company's interim financial statements for the three and nine months ending September 30, 2022, which can be found on The Fresh Factory's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

For conversion purposes, this release used $0.72 as the conversion rate from CAD to USD.

All figures in this press 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 US. 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. To receive news and updates about The Fresh Factory, visit their website at www.thefreshfactory.co.

Contacts

Bill Besenhofer
CEO and Co-founder
1-877-495-1638
[e-mail]

Alyssa Barry
Media and Investor Relations
1-877-495-1638
[e-mail]