Vending

Utz Brands lifts Q1 2023 results on organic net sales gain

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May 15, 2023

Utz Brands Inc. lifted its Q1 2024 sales and improved its loss driven by organic sales growth, according to an earnings release. Highlights include:

• Net sales in the quarter increased 3.1% from $340.8 million in Q1 2022 to $351.4 million for the quarter ending April 2, 2023, driven by organic net sales growth of 4%, partially offset by the company's continued shift to independent operators and the resulting increase in sales discounts that impacted net sales growth by 0.9%.
• The company improved its net loss of $31.9 million to $14.5 million in the comparative quarters.
• Adjusted net income decreased 2.6% from $15.4 million to $15 million primarily due to increased interest expense compared to the prior year period.
• Adjusted earnings per share of 11 cents was consistent with the prior year period.

The $351.4 million in quarterly revenue missed analyst expectations by $1.06 million while the non-GAAP EPS of 11 cents surpassed expectations by one cent, according to Seeking Alpha.

"Our business momentum continued as we delivered year-over-year adjusted gross margin expansion, double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth and 4% organic net sales growth even as we lapped 21% comparable growth in the prior year," CEO Howard Friedman said in the press release. "We remain well-positioned to deliver strong performance for the full year, as our salty snack category remains resilient, and we continue to execute against our key portfolio optimization, geographic expansion and productivity strategies."

The company reaffirmed its 2023 outlook with total net sales growth of 3% to 5% and organic net sales growth of 4% to 6%.