Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory(US:RMCF)2023-01-12 23:51Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Total revenue increased by 11% to $9.5 million for the three months ended November 30, 2022, compared to $8.5 million [29] - Total gross profit for the fiscal third quarter increased by 17% to $2.1 million compared to $1.8 million [30] - Net loss improved significantly to $212,000 or $0.03 per share compared to a net loss of $1.5 million or $0.24 per share in the prior year [31] - Adjusted EBITDA increased nearly 30% to $1.3 million for the three months ended November 30, 2022, compared to $1 million in the year-ago quarter [31] - Operating loss was reduced to $216,000 for the three months ended November 30, 2022, compared to a loss of $2 million in the year-ago period [18] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Total factory sales for the third quarter increased by 14% to $7.3 million compared to $6.4 million, primarily due to higher shipments to franchised and licensed retail stores [29] - Same-store sales at all domestic locations increased by 3% during the three months ended November 30, 2022, while same-store sales at domestic frozen yogurt cafes increased by 14% [16] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Retail sales increased by 7% to approximately $679,000 compared to $636,000 in the fiscal third quarter of the previous year [16] - Royalty and marketing revenue for the quarter was relatively flat at approximately $1.5 million, and franchise fee revenue was also flat at approximately $60,000 compared to the year-ago period [17] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on a strategic transformation plan that includes improving operations in the factory and enhancing the end-to-end supply chain [22][23] - A Franchisee Advisory Council was established to foster dialogue among franchisees and align the company with the franchisee network [10] - The company is actively identifying opportunities for margin and profitability improvements, including SKU rationalization to reduce the product portfolio by at least 20% [27] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - The company is facing macroeconomic pressures, including labor and supply chain challenges, but these pressures are not as severe as earlier in 2022 [11] - The company has implemented new hiring and retention policies, resulting in a 150% increase in applications compared to the third quarter of the previous year [12] - Management expressed optimism about the future, noting that the groundwork laid has begun to generate strong momentum and initial wins are encouraging [22][28] Other Important Information - The company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $3.2 million compared to $7.6 million at the end of the last fiscal year, driven by an increase in inventory [32] - The company remains debt-free as of November 30, 2022 [32] Q&A Session Summary - The Q&A session was not detailed in the provided content, and thus no specific questions and answers can be summarized.