NORTHLAKE, Texas, USA – Farmer Bros. Co. has reported financial results for its second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2021. Net sales were $118.4 million, an increase of $13.9 million, or 13.3%, from the prior year period due to continued improvement in the direct-store-delivery (“DSD”) channel compared to the prior year period.
Gross margin increased to 29.5% compared to 25.1% in the prior year period. Net loss was $5.4 million compared to a net loss of $17.7 million in the prior year period.
Adjusted EBITDA was $4.5 million compared to $8.3 million in the prior year period; the prior period included approximately $7.2 million in Adjusted EBITDA benefiting from higher amortized gains resulting from the curtailment of the postretirement medical plan.*
As of December 31, 2021, total debt outstanding was $91.0 million and cash and cash equivalents were $3.6 million
(*Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, is reconciled to its corresponding GAAP measure at the end of this press release.)
Deverl Maserang, Chief Executive Officer of Farmer Bros. Co., commented:
“We saw further improvement across our business during the second fiscal quarter, highlighted by continued sequential growth in our sales trends. Our second fiscal quarter marked the sixth quarter of sequential improvement in our DSD sales, and we ended the quarter with average weekly DSD sales down 17% compared to pre-COVID levels, representing improvement from down 25% in the prior period and down 40% from one year ago.
Our gross margin expanded sequentially and was up 4.4% over last year’s fiscal second quarter. Amid ongoing uncertainty related to the pandemic including inflationary headwinds, labor challenges and higher coffee prices, we are continuing to drive improvements across the business while managing costs closely.
Overall, we are encouraged by what we believe is a strong opportunity to unlock underlying operating leverage as sales volumes continue to normalize.”
