Farmer Brothers reports third quarter fiscal 2024 financial results and publishes quarterly shareholder letter

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Farmer Bros. Co.
Farmer Bros. Co.

Fiscal Q3 2024 net sales of $85.4 million

Gross margin increase of 660 basis points year-over-year to 40.1%

NORTHLAKE, Texas, May 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM) today reported its third quarter fiscal 2024 financial results for the period ended March 31, 2024. The company filed its Form 10-Q and published its quarterly shareholder letter, which contains additional details regarding the results. Both of those documents can be found on the Investor Relations section of the company’s website.

Financial results
Third quarter fiscal 2024 net sales were $85.4 million compared to $85.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Overall, net sales decreased slightly on a year-over-year basis due to a reduction in unit sales, offset by higher pricing.

Gross margins increased 660 basis points on a year-over-year basis to 40.1% compared to 33.5% for the third quarter of the prior year. Gross profit during the quarter increased $5.5 million to $34.2 million, or 19% on a year-over-year basis, compared to $28.8 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The increase in gross margin was primarily due to improved pricing and a decrease in underlying commodity cost compared to the prior year period. While the company does not expect results to be linear quarter to quarter, it remains confident it is well positioned to sustain gross margins within this range over time.

Operating expenses decreased slightly from $35.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023 to $34.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2024. This decrease was due to a $2.3 million increase in net gains associated with the sale of branch properties and other assets, but was partially offset by a $1.3 million increase in selling expenses and a $0.2 million increase in general and administrative expenses during the third quarter. The selling expense increase was primarily due to additional costs related to vehicle rent expense, healthcare benefits and other benefit-related expenses, partially offset by a decrease in advertising-related expenses.

Net income from continuing operations moved to a loss of $0.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to a loss of $6.9 million during the prior year period, an improvement of approximately $6.2 million on a year-over-year basis.

Adjusted EBITDA1 for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 remained positive for the second consecutive quarter at $0.3 million compared to a loss of $0.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity
As of March 31, 2024, Farmer Brothers had $5.5 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and $0.2 million in restricted cash. The company had outstanding borrowings of $23.3 million, utilized $4.6 million of the letters of credit sub-limit and had $30.5 million of availability under its revolver credit facility. The company believes it is adequately capitalized to finance its operations in fiscal 2024 and expects to achieve its goal to be free cash flow2 positive in early fiscal 2025.