2023-05-08 06:52:35 ET
Freshpet ( NASDAQ: FRPT ) swung lower in early trading on Monday after missing consensus estimates with its Q1 earnings report , despite seeing sales jump 26%.
Sales growth for the quarter was driven by both velocity gains, and pricing. Gross profit fell to 30.3% of sales from 33.9% a year ago. The decrease was primarily due to increased depreciation expense from the expansion in capacity, increased share-based compensation, and unabsorbed plant cost from the Ennis Kitchen, partially offset by reduced input and quality cost as a percentage of net sales.
Freshpet's ( FRPT ) net loss widened to $24.8M from $17.5M last year due chiefly to increased SG&A, which includes increased media spend of $4.4M, higher depreciation and increased unabsorbed plant cost, partially offset by contribution profit from higher sales.
On the balance sheet, FRPT ended the quarter with a cash position of $386.5M with $391.5M of debt outstanding net of $11.0M of fees. The New Jersey-based retailer plans to utilize its balance sheet to support on-going capital needs and enable it to continue to execute the long-term capacity plan.
For full year 2023, FRPT reiterated its full year underlying guidance for sales of ~$750M and adjusted EBITDA of at least $50M.
Shares of Freshpet ( FRPT ) moved 1.45% lower in premarket trading.
More on Freshpet:
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Freshpet slips after reporting a wider loss for Q1 than a year ago