LITTLE ROCK, Ark., USA – Westrock Coffee Company reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. Consolidated net sales were $192.5 million for the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of $12.9 million, or 6.3%, compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Consolidated gross profit for the first quarter of 2024 was $37.3 million and included $1.6 million of non-cash mark-to-market gains, compared to consolidated gross profit of $34.3 million for the first quarter of 2023, which included $1.2 million of non-cash mark-to-market gains.
Net loss for the period was $23.7 million, compared to a net loss of $4.3 million for the first quarter of 2023. The $23.7 million net loss for the first quarter of 2024 included $3.0 million of transaction, restructuring and integration expense, and $9.8 million of start-up costs related to our Conway, AR extract and ready-to-drink facility.
The $4.3 million net loss for the first quarter of 2023 included $6.6 million of transaction, restructuring and integration expense, $1.9 million of start-up costs related to our Conway, AR extract and ready-to-drink facility, and $5.5 million of non-cash gains from the change in fair value of warrant liabilities.
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA was $11.1 million for the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $2.7 million or 31.8%, compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Beverage Solutions segment contributed $158.1 million of net sales and $10.8 million of Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2024, compared to $181.2 million and $8.4 million, respectively, for the first quarter of 2023.
SS&T segment, net of intersegment revenues, contributed $34.4 million of net sales and $0.3 million of Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2024, compared to $24.2 million and break-even, respectively, for the first quarter of 2023.
Scott T. Ford, CEO and Co-founder of Westrock Coffee Company stated, “On balance, our first quarter performance was simply outstanding. Our Adjusted EBITDA was up 32% over the prior year, our new Conway, Arkansas extract and ready-to-drink plant began producing commercial product exactly on schedule on April 16th, and our sales pipeline development efforts were rewarded with several new contract wins in the quarter.
Given these results, our updated orderbook outlook, and our ongoing expense reduction plans, we are re-affirming our Adjusted EBITDA of $60-$80 million for 2024. We are also introducing our first, preliminary guidance for Adjusted EBITDA in 2025 of over $115 million as our customer onboarding process is scheduled to continue on pace through the rest of this year. I am extremely proud of, and thankful to, the entire Westrock team for fighting through challenge after challenge to now be in a position to deliver an industry leading array of products and services to our global, blue-chip customer base.”
Conway, AR Facility Commercialization
The Company has also announced today that it has delivered the first commercial products from its multi-serve bottle line in its Conway, AR extract and ready-to-drink facility. The Company is continuing the build-out of the facility and expects the commercialization of its can and glass lines in the second half of the year.
Westrock Coffee Company: 2024 and 2025 Outlook
The Company is reiterating its guidance for consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to be between $60 million and $80 million in fiscal year 2024. The guidance range is necessarily broad to account for the range of results the Company may experience as it commences operations at its extract and ready-to-drink facility in Conway, AR and the commercialization of customers at that facility. This guidance is an estimate of what the Company believes is realizable as of the date of this release, and actual results may vary from this guidance and the variations may be material. Management will provide additional details regarding the 2024 outlook on its earnings results call to be held today.
The Company is introducing preliminary guidance for consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of $115 million in fiscal year 2025. The guidance is predicated on the customer onboarding process continuing on pace for the rest of the year in its extract and ready-to-drink facility in Conway, AR.
The Company is not readily able to provide a reconciliation of forecasted Adjusted EBITDA to forecasted GAAP net income without unreasonable effort because certain items that impact such figure are uncertain or outside the Company’s control and cannot be reasonably predicted. Such items include the impacts of non-cash gains or losses resulting from mark-to-market adjustments of derivatives and the change in fair value of warrant liabilities, among others.
