J&J Snack Foods’ First Quarter Net Sales Increase 32% leading to EPS of $0.58


PENNSAUKEN, N.J., Jan. 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ: JJSF) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended December 25, 2021.        

 First Quarter
Actuals% v. LY
   
Net Sales$318.5M32.2%
Operating Income$14.8M2468%
Net Earnings$11.1M524%
Earnings per Diluted Share (EPS)$0.58520%


Dan Fachner, J&J Snack Foods President and CEO, commented, “Our first quarter fiscal 2022 results reflect a continuation of positive consumer trends and healthy demand for our products even as the spread and impact of Covid-19 accelerated throughout the quarter. Net sales increased 32% year-over-year and by 17% versus the same period in fiscal 2019, led by strong results from our core products including pretzels and churros, frozen novelties, as well as sales exceeding pre-pandemic levels in our frozen beverages segment. The Food Service segment grew 32%, compared to the prior year period, while the Retail and Frozen Beverages segments grew 9% and 54%, respectively. Overall, our first quarter sales performance demonstrates ongoing strength and our belief of the tremendous growth potential of our business in both the near- and long-term as we move deeper into a post-pandemic recovery.”

“As was the case last quarter, our industry continues to experience unprecedented inflationary pressures and higher-than-expected cost increases across many facets of the business, from raw materials and ingredients, to transportation, packaging and labor. First quarter fiscal 2022 gross margin was 25%, favorably comparing to 21% for the prior year, but below the 28% gross margin generated in the comparable 2019 period. Our organization continues to focus on specific actions to offset the short-term cost challenges and we have identified a number of opportunities to reduce expenses across our business, including procurement, R&D, production and distribution. In addition, we have four new production lines scheduled to be activated in fiscal 2022 that will leverage automation to improve efficiencies. Finally, we are also implementing additional price increases for our products across nearly all of our categories. Collectively, we expect these initiatives to improve our gross margins progressively over the second quarter of fiscal 2022 and into the back-half of the fiscal year.”

"With a strong balance sheet and liquidity position, we have the financial flexibility to continue making select return-focused strategic investments in sales, marketing and product innovation to further J&J’s position as a leader in the snack foods segment. We are also actively evaluating inorganic, accretive growth opportunities that complement our existing product portfolio and bring added value to our shareholders. We are confident that our continued execution on these strategic priorities is positioning J&J Snack Foods for continued near- and long-term growth and success, particularly as economic trends further improve and segments of our of business such as theaters, amusement parks and outdoor events continue their recovery.”

“I believe our future is exceedingly bright as we leverage our unique and valuable assets, including some of the most powerful and enduring brands in the snack food industry, brands that are real and sustainable and have been time tested.   This year, J&J Snack Foods is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding, highlighting our transformational growth and success over five decades driven by a disciplined approach toward managing the business and an organization-wide commitment to ‘serving fun’ to our customers. We are determined to continue that trend in 2022 and beyond."

Total Company First Quarter Highlights

Net sales increased 32% to $318.5 million in Q1 of fiscal 2022, compared to Q1 of fiscal 2021, and by 17%, compared to Q1 of fiscal 2019.

Key highlights include:

  • Sales were driven by growth in core products, including soft pretzels, churros, bakery and frozen beverages.
  • Food Service sales exceeded Q1 ’21 by 32%, and surpassed Q1 ’19 by 18%.
  • Retail segment sales exceeded Q1 ’21 by 9% and surpassed Q1 ’19 by 36%.
  • Frozen Beverage segment sales beat Q1 ’21 sales by 54%, led by frozen beverages growing over 113%; frozen beverage sales surpassed Q1 ’19 by 8% led by strong growth across restaurant, convenience, and amusement channels, and an improving theater business that grew sequentially each month of the quarter.

Gross profit as a percentage of sales was 25% in Q1 ’22, compared to 21% in Q1 ’21, reflecting the operating leverage benefit of increased sales, favorable product mix and corresponding margin efficiencies.

Total operating expenses were 20.3% of sales for the quarter, a decrease of 30 bps, compared to Q1 ’21. Expenses were negatively impacted by industry-wide freight and distribution cost increases. Distribution costs were 10.5% of sales in the quarter, an increase of 96 bps versus the prior year period, while marketing and selling expenses were 6.6% of sales, a decrease of 62 bps versus the prior year period. Administrative expenses were 3.3% of sales in Q1 ’22, favorably comparing to 3.9% in Q1 ’21.

Operating income was $14.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, compared to $0.6 million in the prior year period, largely reflecting the operating leverage in our model and the aforementioned items. Net earnings in Q1 ‘22 increased to $11.1 million, compared to $1.8 million in Q1 ’21. Our effective tax rate was 27% in Q1 ‘22.   

Food Service Segment First Quarter Highlights

  • Q1 ’22 food service sales exceeded Q1 ’21 by 32% and surpassed Q1 ’19 sales by 18%.
  • Customer venues across theaters, sports, amusement, convenience, schools and restaurants and strategic accounts are experiencing a surge in post pandemic demand driving strong sales in our core products, including 54% increase in soft pretzel sales to $50.4 million, 34% increase in frozen novelties sales to $8.5 million, churro sales growth of 69% to $19.5 million led by customer expansion and growing menu penetration, bakery sales growth of 21% to $107.8 million, and, handheld sales growth of 5% to $18.5 million.
  • Sales of new products were approximately $2 million driven primarily by new bakery items.
  • Q1 ’22 operating income increased 46% to $9.0 million driven by strong sales and improved product mix, and the benefits of expense leverage.

Retail Segment First Quarter Highlights

  • Q1 ’22 retail sales increased 9%, compared to Q1 ’21, and grew 36% versus Q1 ’19 sales.
  • Soft pretzels increased 17%, compared to Q1 ’21, and sales increased 59% as compared to Q1 ’19 led by our SuperPretzel core product and growing pretzel bites volume. Frozen novelties sales increased 16%, and were 62% higher than the same quarter in fiscal 2019 aided by wider distribution for Luigi’s, Whole Fruit, Dogsters, Icee and Minute Maid brands. Biscuit sales increased 8% in the quarter. Handheld sales declined 54% to $1.3 million driven by proactive discontinuations of margin dilutive products.
  • Operating income increased 6% to $5.0 million driven by higher sales and the benefits of expense leverage compared to prior year.

Frozen Beverages Segment First Quarter Highlights      

  • Frozen beverage segment sales beat Q1 ’21 sales by 54% led by beverage sales, and surpassed pre-Covid 2019 sales for the same quarter by 6%.
  • Beverage sales grew over 100%, $17.9 million higher than in Q1 ’21 and 8% higher than Q1 ’19 reflecting the growing momentum across theater, amusement, convenience, and restaurant channels. In the amusement channel, we continue to see strong growth in indoor focused venues where we are well positioned for growth. Theater sales improved steadily over the quarter including a strong December where sales were just slightly below pre-Covid 2019 levels.
  • Service revenues increased 16%, the strongest quarter in history, led by an acceleration in preventive maintenance calls. Equipment sales increased 21% driven mainly by growth from large QSR and convenience customers.
  • Q1 ’22 Operating income increased to $0.9 million, compared to a Q1 ’21 operating loss of $10.3 million, as strong sales drove leverage across the business.

About J&J Snack Foods Corp.
J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ: JJSF) is a leader and innovator in the snack food industry, providing innovative, niche and affordable branded snack foods and beverages to foodservice and retail supermarket outlets. Manufactured and distributed nationwide, our principal products include SUPERPRETZEL, the #1 soft pretzel brand in the world, as well as internationally known ICEE and SLUSH PUPPIE frozen beverages, LUIGI’S Real Italian Ice, MINUTE MAID* frozen ices, WHOLE FRUIT sorbet and frozen fruit bars, SOUR PATCH KIDS** Flavored Ice Pops, Tio Pepe’s & CALIFORNIA CHURROS, and THE FUNNEL CAKE FACTORY funnel cakes and several bakery brands within DADDY RAY’S, COUNTRY HOME BAKERS and HILL & VALLEY. J&J Snack Foods Corp. has approximately twenty manufacturing facilities and generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue. The Company has a history of strong sales growth and financial performance and remains focused on opportunities to expand its unique niche market product offering while bringing smiles to families worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.jjsnack.com.

*MINUTE MAID is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company
**SOUR PATCH KIDS is a registered trademark of Mondelēz International group, used under license.

Certain Definitions
Adjusted EBITDA consists of net earnings adjusted to exclude: income taxes (benefit); investment income; interest expense; depreciation and amortization; share-based compensation expense; COVID-19 related expenses; net (gain) loss on sale or disposal of assets; impairment charges, and restructuring costs.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
It is important to note that Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Management believes that this measure is useful as a way to evaluate the Company and the means for Management to evaluate our performance and operations. Management believes that this measure is useful to an investor in evaluating our performance because it is widely used in the food and beverage industry.

A certain adjusted non-GAAP financial measure is presented in this release. Management believes this adjusted non-GAAP measure provides useful information to Management and investors by excluding certain income, expenses, and gains and losses that may not be indicative of the Company’s core operating and financial results. Similarly, Management believes this adjusted measure is a useful performance measure because certain items included in the calculation of net earnings may either mask or exaggerate trends in the Company’s ongoing operating performance. Further, the reconciliation corresponding to this adjusted measure, by identifying individual adjustments, provides a useful mechanism for investors to consider this adjusted measure with some, or all, of the identified adjustments.

Management uses this non-GAAP financial measure on an ongoing basis to help track and assess the Company’s financial performance. You, however, should not consider non-GAAP measures in isolation or as a substitute for net earnings, operating income, or any other measure for determining our operating performance that is calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. This non-GAA measure is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. The accompanying financial tables provide reconciliations to the nearest GAAP measure of all non-GAAP measures provided in this release.

Investor Contact:
Joseph Jaffoni, Norberto Aja or Jennifer Neuman
JCIR
(212) 835-8500
jjsf@jcir.com


 J & J SNACK FOODS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
    
 Three months ended
 December 25, December 26,
  2021   2020 
    
Net Sales$318,490  $240,997 
    
Cost of goods sold 239,115   190,872 
Gross Profit 79,375   50,125 
    
Operating expenses   
Marketing 20,907   17,301 
Distribution 33,315   22,889 
Administrative 10,369   9,440 
Other general expense (61)  (83)
Total Operating Expenses 64,530   49,547 
    
Operating Income 14,845   578 
    
Other income (expense)   
Investment income 271   1,370 
Interest expense & other (18)  (15)
    
Earnings before   
income taxes 15,098   1,933 
    
Income tax expense 4,007   155 
    
NET EARNINGS$11,091  $1,778 
    
Earnings per diluted share$0.58  $0.09 
    
Weighted average number   
of diluted shares 19,153   19,031 
    
Earnings per basic share$0.58  $0.09 
    
Weighted average number of   
basic shares 19,085   18,935 
    


               J & J SNACK FOODS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                (in thousands, except share amounts)
    
 December 25,  September 25,
  2021   2021 
 (unaudited)  
Assets   
Current assets   
Cash and cash equivalents$268,460  $283,192 
Marketable securities held to maturity 5,506   7,980 
Accounts receivable, net 162,585   162,939 
Inventories 132,724   123,160 
Prepaid expenses and other 6,771   7,498 
Total current assets 576,046   584,769 
    
Property, plant and equipment, at cost 766,510   757,242 
Less accumulated depreciation   
and amortization 495,516   490,055 
Property, plant and equipment, net 270,994   267,187 
    
Other assets   
Goodwill 121,833   121,833 
Other intangible assets, net 77,191   77,776 
Marketable securities held to maturity 2,038   4,047 
Marketable securities available for sale 7,327   10,084 
Operating lease right-of-use assets 54,195   54,555 
Other 2,282   1,968 
Total other assets 264,866   270,263 
Total Assets$1,111,906  $1,122,219 
    
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity   
Current Liabilities   
Current finance lease liabilities$146  $182 
Accounts payable 91,010   96,789 
Accrued insurance liability 15,352   16,260 
Accrued liabilities 13,307   10,955 
Current operating lease liabilities 13,512   13,395 
Accrued compensation expense 12,688   17,968 
Dividends payable 12,083   12,080 
Total current liabilities 158,098   167,629 
    
Noncurrent finance lease liabilities 354   392 
Noncurrent operating lease liabilities 45,970   46,557 
Deferred income taxes 61,061   61,578 
Other long-term liabilities 425   409 
    
Stockholders' Equity   
Preferred stock, $1 par value; authorized   
10,000,000 shares; none issued -   - 
Common stock, no par value; authorized,   
50,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding   
19,089,000 and 19,084,000 respectively 75,386   73,597 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (13,827)  (13,383)
Retained Earnings 784,439   785,440 
Total stockholders' equity 845,998   845,654 
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity$1,111,906  $1,122,219 
    


J & J SNACK FOODS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited) (in thousands)
    
 Three months ended
 December 25, December 26,
  2021   2020 
Operating activities:   
Net earnings$11,091  $1,778 
Adjustments to reconcile net   
earnings to net cash   
provided by operating activities:   
Depreciation of fixed assets 11,923   12,269 
Amortization of intangibles   
and deferred costs 588   679 
Gains from disposals of property & equipment (27)  - 
Share-based compensation 1,083   1,244 
Deferred income taxes (529)  (8)
Loss (gain) on marketable securities 44   (681)
Other (4)  (80)
Changes in assets and liabilities   
net of effects from purchase of companies   
Decrease in accounts receivable 231   13,701 
Increase in inventories (9,958)  (5,641)
Decrease (increase) in prepaid expenses 719   (889)
Decrease in accounts payable and   
  accrued liabilities (9,707)  (1,068)
Net cash provided by operating activities 5,454   21,304 
Investing activities:   
Purchases of property, plant   
and equipment (16,100)  (9,676)
Proceeds from redemption and sales of   
marketable securities 7,200   26,148 
Proceeds from disposal of property and   
equipment 231   880 
Other -   15 
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (8,669)  17,367 
Financing activities:   
Proceeds from issuance of stock 706   4,390 
Payments on finance lease obligations (74)  (86)
Payment of cash dividend (12,080)  (10,876)
Net cash used in financing activities (11,448)  (6,572)
Effect of exchange rate on cash   
and cash equivalents (69)  427 
Net increase (decrease) in cash   
and cash equivalents (14,732)  32,526 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning   
of period 283,192   195,809 
Cash and cash equivalents at end   
of period$268,460  $228,335 
    


J & J SNACK FOODS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
 NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
 (Unaudited) (in thousands)
    
 Three months ended
 December 25, December 26,
  2021   2020 
    
Sales to External Customers:   
Food Service   
Soft pretzels$50,421  $32,687 
Frozen novelties 8,457   6,295 
Churros 19,489   11,542 
Handhelds 18,495   17,611 
Bakery 107,831   88,964 
Other 7,039   3,326 
Total Food Service$211,732  $160,425 
    
Retail Supermarket   
Soft pretzels$16,194  $13,888 
Frozen novelties 17,802   15,316 
Biscuits 8,271   7,660 
Handhelds 1,276   2,780 
Coupon redemption (896)  (1,075)
Other 48   525 
Total Retail Supermarket$42,695  $39,094 
    
Frozen Beverages   
Beverages$33,763  $15,855 
Repair and   
  maintenance service 22,011   18,896 
Machines revenue 7,847   6,489 
Other 442   238 
Total Frozen Beverages$64,063  $41,478 
    
Consolidated Sales$318,490  $240,997 
    
Depreciation and Amortization:   
Food Service$6,669  $6,786 
Retail Supermarket 366   386 
Frozen Beverages 5,476   5,776 
Total Depreciation and Amortization$12,511  $12,948 
    
Operating Income :   
Food Service$9,001  $6,180 
Retail Supermarket 4,984   4,723 
Frozen Beverages 860   (10,325)
Total Operating Income$14,845  $578 
    
Capital Expenditures:   
Food Service$10,233  $8,286 
Retail Supermarket 2,529   21 
Frozen Beverages 3,338   1,369 
Total Capital Expenditures$16,100  $9,676 
    
Assets:   
Food Service$794,819  $744,277 
Retail Supermarket 29,802   31,668 
Frozen Beverages 287,285   275,898 
Total Assets$1,111,906  $1,051,843 
    


J & J SNACK FOODS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(Unaudited) (in thousands)
      
   Three months ended
      
   December 25, December 26,
   2021 2020
      
Reconciliation of GAAP Net Earnings to Adjusted EBITDA     
      
Net Earnings  11,091  1,778 
Income Taxes  4,007  155 
Investment Income  (271) (1,370)
Interest Expense  18  15 
Depreciation and Amortization  12,511  12,948 
Share-Based Compensation  1,083  1,244 
COVID-19 (Recoveries) Expenses  (874) 745 
Net (Gain) Loss on Sale or Disposal of Assets  (27) - 
Adjusted EBITDA  27,538  15,515