Natural Grocers by Vitamin tage(US:NGVC) Prnewswireยท2025-05-08 20:10Core Viewpoint - Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. reported exceptional second quarter results for fiscal 2025, with record sales and earnings, leading to an increased fiscal outlook for the year [2][19]. Financial Performance - Net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 increased by $27.7 million, or 9.0%, reaching $335.8 million compared to the same quarter in fiscal 2024 [3][8]. - Daily average comparable store sales rose by 8.9%, driven by a 5.9% increase in transaction count and a 2.8% increase in transaction size [3][8]. - Gross profit for the second quarter increased by $11.4 million, or 12.6%, to $101.7 million, with a gross margin improvement of 100 basis points to 30.3% [4][11]. - Operating income surged by 55.9% to $17.6 million, with an operating margin of 5.2%, up from 3.7% in the prior year [7][14]. - Net income increased by 64.6% to $13.1 million, translating to diluted earnings per share of $0.56, compared to $0.35 in the same quarter of fiscal 2024 [7][8]. Cost Management - Store expenses rose by 5.1% to $72.8 million, but as a percentage of net sales, they decreased to 21.7% from 22.5% in the previous year, indicating expense leverage [5][12]. - Administrative expenses increased by 15.8% to $11.0 million, with a slight rise in percentage of net sales to 3.3% from 3.1% [6][13]. Growth and Development - The company opened two new stores during the second quarter, bringing the total to 169 stores across 21 states [18][22]. - The fiscal 2025 outlook has been raised, with expected daily average comparable store sales growth adjusted to 6.5% to 7.5% and diluted earnings per share revised to $1.78 to $1.86 [19][20]. Cash Flow and Balance Sheet - As of March 31, 2025, the company had $21.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, with no outstanding borrowings on its revolving credit facility [16][28]. - The company generated $36.7 million in cash from operations during the first six months of fiscal 2025 [16][30].