Natural Grocers by Vitamin tage(NGVC) - 2026 Q1 - Quarterly Results

Financial Performance - Net sales for Q1 fiscal 2026 increased by $5.4 million, or 1.6%, to $335.6 million compared to Q1 fiscal 2025, driven by a $5.7 million increase in comparable store sales [4] - Net income for Q1 fiscal 2026 increased by 14.0% to $11.3 million, with diluted earnings per share of $0.49, compared to $9.9 million, or $0.43 diluted earnings per share, in Q1 fiscal 2025 [8] - Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 fiscal 2026 was $23.5 million, reflecting a 3.1% increase from $22.8 million in Q1 fiscal 2025 [9] - EBITDA increased by 6.2% to $22.620 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, compared to $21.298 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, representing 6.7% of net sales [28] - Adjusted EBITDA rose by 3.1% to $23.525 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, compared to $22.820 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, accounting for 7.0% of net sales [29] Sales and Store Performance - Daily average comparable store sales rose by 1.7% in Q1 fiscal 2026, with a 1.0% increase in daily average transaction count and a 0.7% increase in daily average transaction size [4] - The company plans to open 6 to 8 new stores and relocate/remodel 2 to 3 stores in fiscal 2026, with a projected daily average comparable store sales growth of 1.5% to 4.0% [13] Expenses and Margins - Gross margin decreased by 40 basis points to 29.5% in Q1 fiscal 2026, down from 29.9% in Q1 fiscal 2025, primarily due to higher inventory shrink [5] - Store expenses decreased by 0.7% to $73.0 million, representing 21.8% of net sales, down from 22.3% in Q1 fiscal 2025 [6] - Administrative expenses decreased by 5.9% to $10.8 million, accounting for 3.2% of net sales, down from 3.5% in Q1 fiscal 2025 [7] Cash Flow and Liquidity - As of December 31, 2025, the company had $23.2 million in cash and cash equivalents and generated $21.1 million in cash from operations during Q1 fiscal 2026 [11] - Net cash provided by operating activities was $21.134 million for the three months ended December 31, 2025, significantly up from $2.682 million in the same period of 2024 [25] - Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period increased to $23.210 million from $6.316 million year-over-year [25] Shareholder Returns - The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per common share, payable on March 18, 2026 [12] - The company incurred $3.455 million in dividends to shareholders, up from $2.749 million in the previous year [25] Other Financial Metrics - The company reported a decrease in accounts payable by $11.993 million, from a decrease of $12.970 million in 2024 to a decrease of $977 thousand in 2025 [25] - Interest expense, net, decreased to $713 thousand from $923 thousand year-over-year [28] - The company reported a loss on impairment of long-lived assets and store closing costs of $45 thousand, down from $87 thousand in the previous year [28] - The acquisition of property and equipment not yet paid was $6.318 million, compared to $3.828 million in the prior year [25]