News Press Releases

Mene Inc. Reports Record Financial Results for Third Quarter 2019

V.AGX | November 28, 2019

TORONTO

Menē Inc. (TSX-V:MENE) (US:MENEF) (“Menē” or the “Company”), an online 24 karat investment jewelry brand, today announced record financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019 (“Q3 2019”). All amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:

IFRS Revenue of $3.2 million, a $1.2 million (62%) increase year-over-year (“YoY”). Non-IFRS Adjusted Revenue of $3.4 million, an increase of 47% YoY and the second highest revenue amount in the history of the Company.
IFRS Gross Profit of $1 million, an increase of $0.8 million (380%) YoY and a new record for the Company.
Gross Profit Margin expanded by 2,100 basis points, from 10% in Q3 2018 to 31% in Q3 2019, a new record for the Company which is due to gains on precious metal inventory.
IFRS Operating Loss decreased by $0.9 million, or 55% YoY to a record low of $0.77 million, due to increased gross profit and management’s ability to reduce operating expenses from 96% to 55% of revenue YoY.
Non-IFRS Adjusted Loss reduced by $0.3 million (22%) YoY to $0.89 million.
Sold 44 kilograms of gold and platinum jewelry during the quarter, an increase of 25% compared to Q3 2018.

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Introduced 30 new product designs during the quarter, which accounted for 11% of total jewelry weight sold.
Cumulative units of jewelry sold reached of 39,749 as of quarter end.
Inventory Level of 249 Gold Equivalent Kilograms, an increase of 85% YoY.
Mene.com was featured on the official Instagram @shop account in August.
New Menē X Collaboration with Louise Bourgeois’ Easton Foundation.
Menē to be featured by Instagram in a Christmas Pop-up Shop in Selfridges in London where customers will be able to purchase Menē jewelry on site.

IFRS Consolidated Income Statement Data & Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ¹	FY 2019			FY 2018				July 11, 2017 to December 31, 2017
	Q3	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3	Q2	Q1	July 11, 2017 to December 31, 2017
Revenue (CAD) ²	3,218,281	2,456,930	2,733,596	3,510,374	1,985,711	1,392,867	1,038,947	63,909
Gross profit (CAD)	1,000,210	600,719	678,814	983,840	208,408	229,461	170,486	12,143
Gross profit (%)	31%	24%	25%	28%	10%	16%	16%	19%
Net loss	(1,535,114)	(672,664)	(1,107,752)	(2,664,975)	(1,644,097)	(1,164,185)	(1,494,104)	(915,812)
Total comprehensive loss	(1,405,212)	(868,787)	(1,166,288)	(2,681,362)	(1,691,124)	(919,106)	(1,348,026)	(1,702,048)
Non-IFRS Adjusted Revenue (CAD) ³	3,445,952	2,601,569	2,914,297	3,948,113	2,346,622	1,891,608	1,162,777	67,114
Non-IFRS Adjusted Gross Profit (CAD) ⁴	1,070,968	636,083	723,686	1,106,524	246,287	311,623	190,806	12,752
Non-IFRS Adjusted Loss	(890,776)	(578,039)	(577,218)	(469,487)	(1,136,242)	(758,895)	(1,251,091)	(1,639,950)
Total Shareholders' Equity (CAD)	17,399,693	18,423,043	17,833,109	18,516,087	10,077,520	11,251,166	11,878,195	13,192,937
Inventory balance (kg of gold) ⁵	249	255	222	244	135	131	90	54
Customer orders	2,998	5,167	4,437	6,729	3,994	2,389	951	74
Units of jewelry sold	5,164	7,183	8,182	9,111	6,168	2,920	941	80
Jewelry weight sold (total kg)	44	42	43	51	35	23	16	1

Notes:

(1) The period July 11, 2017 to December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 are audited figures. The period Q1 to Q3 2018 have been reviewed by the Company's independent auditor firm, KPMG.

(2) The Company began generating sales to an invite-only group in October 2017. The Company began selling to the general public in January 2018.

(3) The Company adjusts its revenue by adding back the value of jewelry that the Company bought back from, or was returned by customers, and discounts given to customers. These adjustments are made to assess the gross revenue before deducting these items from revenue. See Non-IFRS Measures for a full definition.

(4) The Company adjusts its gross profit by adjusting for revenue and cost of sales to be added back for the value of jewelry that the Company bought back from, or was returned by customers, and discounts given to customers. See Non-IFRS Measures for a full definition.

(5) Inventory balances in kilograms of gold are calculated by taking the total Canadian Dollar (CAD) inventory value at each quarter-end date, and dividing the value by the CAD gold spot price per gram.

Statement from Founder & CEO Roy Sebag:

I am pleased to report the record results from our fiscal third quarter of 2019. These results show that Menē is transitioning from a start-up jewelry concept into a formidable business. Assuming the current run-rate, Menē may end the year with between 60-80% YoY topline growth. These impressive growth rates are being achieved without any meaningful marketing or customer acquisition expenses. What’s driving our growth is word of mouth and satisfied customers who are moved by our disruptive vision for jewelry as savings. These customers (now totaling over 30,000 around the world) inherently recognize the value proposition Menē offers and are spreading the word to their friends and family. Looking on to the end of the year and 2020, we see a fertile landscape for collaborative opportunities with leading taste-makers, celebrities, and artists. In today’s earnings results, we are disclosing that our newest collaboration is with the legendary Louise Bourgeois foundation. There will be further disclosure about the extent of our collaboration when the collection is launched but what is important to mention is that the Company expects this new collection to further drive sales and for there to be high demand for pre-orders. The prominent Art Gallery Hauser & Wirth is planning to sell these items in their global galleries as well. The second important event is that Instagram decided to feature Menē in their upcoming joint venture with Selfridges. A shop-in-shop will be launched next week where London residents will be able to visit Selfridges on Oxford Street and purchase Menē products. Both recent events as well as our overall operating performance in 2020 imply to management that Menē brand equity is increasing in value within the luxury market. We fully intend on embracing this momentum to increase our top-line sales and continue to strengthen our brand in the years to come. As we have recently seen, Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) has entered into an agreement where it will be acquired by LVMH (MC FP) at an Enterprise Value of over C$20 Billion. This transaction confirms both the long-term potential inherent to the jewelry industry on which our entire thesis and foray into this industry was predicated. Finally, with this acquisition of Tiffany & Co., there are few remaining independent jewelry brands out there. Menē will seek to fill this void with an independent brand that customers can trust and depend on for decades to come.

Non-IFRS Measures

This news release contains non-IFRS financial measures; the Company believes that these measures provide investors with useful supplemental information about the financial performance of its business, enable comparison of financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in operating its business. Although management believes these financial measures are important in evaluating the Company's performance, they are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures do not have any standardized meaning and may not be comparable with similar measures used by other companies. For certain non-IFRS financial measures, there are no directly comparable amounts under IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be viewed as alternatives to measures of financial performance determined in accordance with IFRS. Moreover, presentation of certain of these measures is provided for year-over-year comparison purposes, and investors should be cautioned that the effect of the adjustments thereto provided herein have an actual effect on the Company's operating results.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Revenue³ is a non-IFRS measure. The Company adjusts its revenue by adding back the value of jewelry that the Company bought back from, or was returned by customers, and discounts given to customers. These adjustments are made to assess the gross revenue before deducting these items per IFRS revenue.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Gross Profit⁴ is a non-IFRS measure. The Company adjusts its gross profit by adjusting for the additional revenue and associated cost of sales added back for the value of jewelry that the Company bought back from, or was returned by customers, and discounts given to customers.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Loss is a non-IFRS measure. The Company adjusts its total comprehensive loss by adjusting for Non-IFRS Adjusted Gross Profit, and removing the impact of non-cash expenses, consisting of depreciation and amortization, stock based compensation, and a one-time listing expense, the fair value of 5,984,750 shares issued for the amalgamation with Amador Gold Corp.’s subsidiary in Q4 2018.

For a full definition of non-IFRS financial measures used herein to their nearest IFRS equivalents, please see the section entitled "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" in the Company's MD&A for the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

About Menē Inc.

Menē crafts pure 24 karat gold and platinum jewelry that is transparently sold by gram weight. Through mene.com, customers may buy jewelry, monitor the value of their collection over time, and sell or exchange their pieces by gram weight at prevailing market prices. Menē was founded by Roy Sebag and Diana Widmaier-Picasso with a mission to restore the relationship between jewelry and savings. Menē empowers consumers by marrying innovative technology, timeless design, and pure precious metals to create pieces which endure as a store of value.

For more information about Menē, visit mene.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains or refers to certain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information can often be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "may", "potential" and "will" or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. All information other than information regarding historical fact, which addresses activities, events or developments that the Menē Inc. (the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, is forward looking information. Forward-looking information does not constitute historical fact but reflects the current expectations the Company regarding future results or events based on information that is currently available. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking information will not occur. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all.

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