Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2016 Results

SECAUCUS, N.J., Nov. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. VSI, a multi-channel, specialty retailer and manufacturer of nutritional products, today announced preliminary results for the three months ended September 24, 2016.  Total net sales in the third quarter were $314.9 million, essentially flat with the same period of the prior year.  Reported fully-diluted earnings per share in third quarter 2016 were $0.48, flat with third quarter 2015.  Results in third quarter 2016 and 2015 include approximately $1.4 million and $1.6 million (pre-tax) respectively, of net costs related to certain reinvention initiatives.  Excluding these items in both periods, adjusted EPS was $0.50 and $0.52, in third quarter 2016 and third quarter 2015, respectively.  (The items affecting comparability of results are detailed and reconciled in Table 4 at the end of this press release.)

Commenting on the quarter's results, Colin Watts, Chief Executive Officer of the Vitamin Shoppe stated, "Third quarter results were generally in line with our expectations.  Product margins improved as we reduced our promotional activity in the quarter, but the top line continues to be soft with lower comparable store sales."

"We are pleased by the progress we made during the quarter with our Reinvention plan, including continued growth of our Private Brands, a high level of engagement for our Loyalty program and the opening of our fully redesigned Vitamin Shoppe test-format store, integrating several elements of our work to reinvent our customer experience.  While still early, we are pleased with customer response since the re-opening.  We also made good progress with cost savings and margin improvement initiatives related to cost of goods sold and store level expenses which will yield operating margin benefits in 2017 and beyond," concluded Mr. Watts.

Third Quarter 2016 Results

Total sales of $314.9 million in the quarter increased 0.3% over the same period of the prior year.  Total comparable sales were down 1.9% in the quarter driven by a 2.3% decline in retail store comparable sales partially offset by a 1.7% increase in e-commerce comparable sales.  Manufacturing third party sales increased 11.2% from the same period of the prior year.  The Company opened five stores in the quarter and closed two.

Cost of goods sold, which includes product, distribution, manufacturing and store occupancy costs, increased $3.6 million, or 1.7%, to $212.8 million for the three months ended September 24, 2016, compared with $209.2 million for the three months ended September 26, 2015.

Gross profit of $102.1 million was down 2.5% from $104.7 million in third quarter 2015.  Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 32.4% in third quarter 2016, compared to 33.4% in 2015.  The decrease was primarily due to occupancy and supply chain deleverage as well as lower gross margins for Nutri-Force and was partially offset by improved product margins.

Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A), including operating payroll and related benefits, advertising expense and depreciation and amortization, increased $0.5 million, or 0.6%, to $81.9 million for the quarter ended September 24, 2016, compared with $81.4 million for the quarter ended September 26, 2015.  SG&A includes approximately $2.3 million of professional fees related to implementation of the Company's cost reduction initiatives as well as a $0.9 million reversal of lease liabilities related to the closure of the Canadian stores.  SG&A for third quarter 2015 included total costs of $1.6 million related to reinvention costs and integration related expenses.  Excluding these items for both periods, SG&A as a percent of revenue was 25.6% in third quarter 2016 and 25.4% in third quarter 2015. (For further information on adjustments see Table 4 at the end of this release.)  The increase in the SG&A rate was driven by deleverage in store payroll and advertising, partially offset by leverage from Nutri-Force as well as lower corporate costs.

Income from operations in third quarter 2016 of $20.3 million compared to $23.4 million in the same period of the prior year.  As a percentage of net sales, income from operations was 6.4% for third quarter 2016 compared with 7.4% for third quarter 2015.  Adjusted for the items noted in the preceding paragraph, income from operations as a percentage of sales was 6.9% in third quarter 2016 and 8.0% in third quarter 2015.  (See Table 4).

Net income was $11.4 million for third quarter 2016 compared to $14.1 million in the same period of the prior year.  Reported earnings per diluted share were $0.48 in third quarter 2016, flat with third quarter 2015.  EPS, on an adjusted basis (for the items described in Table 4), was $0.50 for third quarter 2016 and $0.52 for third quarter 2015.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Cash and equivalents at September 24, 2016 were $2.0 million.  At quarter end, the Company had $6.0 million drawn on the revolving line of credit and a convertible notes liability of $119.4 million.

Capital expenditures were $10.2 million in the quarter.  Funds were primarily expended on new stores, supply chain, digital and other IT investments.

During the quarter, the Company repurchased 0.2 million shares of its common stock, or 1.0% of the shares outstanding, for a total purchase price of $5.0 million.

2016 Outlook

Management is providing the following outlook for 2016:

• Total comparable sales growth flat to slightly negative
• The opening of 27 new stores
• GAAP fully diluted earnings per share narrowed to the range of $1.89 - $1.99 (See Table 5) and adjusted earnings per diluted share in the range of $2.10 to $2.20 for the full-year of 2016
• Capital expenditures of approximately $40 million

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted information is non-GAAP financial information. These supplemental non-GAAP measures should not be considered superior to, or a substitute for, and should be considered in conjunction with the GAAP financial measures presented.  The Company believes such non-GAAP financial information provides additional perspective regarding how it evaluates it financial results and what it considers to be the core operating performance of the business.  Accordingly, the Company believes this supplemental information will enhance the understanding of readers of trends in its historical results.  A reconciliation of adjusted financial information to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP is shown in Tables 4 and 5.

Webcast
Management will host a conference call to discuss the third quarter 2016 results at 8:30a.m. Eastern Time (ET) today.  Interested investors and other parties may listen to the simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging onto the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.vitaminshoppe.com.  A telephonic replay will be available beginning at 11:30a.m. ET on November 2, 2016 and can be accessed by dialing 1-844-512-2921 or 1-412-317-6671 for international callers. The passcode for the replay is 3905590.  The telephonic replay will be available until 11:59 p.m. ET on November 9, 2016.  The webcast will also be archived on the company's website at www.vitaminshoppe.com in the investor relations section.

About the Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. VSI
Vitamin Shoppe is a multi-channel, specialty retailer and contract manufacturer of nutritional products based in Secaucus, New Jersey.  In its stores and on its website, the Company carries a comprehensive retail assortment including: vitamins, minerals, specialty supplements, herbs, sports nutrition, homeopathic remedies, green living products, and beauty aids.  In addition to offering products from approximately 850 national brands, the Vitamin Shoppe also carries products under The Vitamin Shoppe^®, BodyTech^®, True Athlete^®, MyTrition^®, plnt^®, ProBioCare^®, Next Step^® and Betancourt Nutrition^® brands.  The Vitamin Shoppe conducts business through more than 750 company-operated retail stores under The Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements retail banners, and primarily through its website, www.vitaminshoppe.com.  Follow the Vitamin Shoppe on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/THEVITAMINSHOPPE and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VitaminShoppe.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including without limitation, statements under the caption "2016 Outlook", statements regarding future financial results and performance, share repurchases, future business prospects, revenue, new stores, product offerings, store growth, working capital, liquidity, capital expenditures, capital needs and interest costs, industry based factors, including the level of competition in the vitamin, mineral and supplement industry, continued demand from the primary markets the Company serves, consumer perception of the Company's products, the availability of raw materials as well as economic conditions generally and factors more specific to the Company such as compliance with manufacturing regulations, certifications and practices and restrictions imposed by the Company's revolving credit facility, including financial covenants and limitations on the Company's ability to incur additional indebtedness and the Company's future capital requirements, and other risks, uncertainties and factors set forth under Item 1A., entitled "Risk Factors", in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 26, 2015 and in the Company's other reports and documents filed with the SEC.  These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "outlook", "believes", "expects", "potential", "continues", "may", "will", "should", "seeks", "predicts", "intends", "plans", "estimates", "anticipates", "target", "could" or the negative version of these words or other comparable words.  These statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside the Company's control, including, among others the strength of the economy, changes in the overall level of consumer spending, the performance of the Company's products within the prevailing retail environment, trade restrictions, availability of suitable store locations at appropriate terms, the availability of raw material and other specific factors discussed herein and in other Company SEC filings (including reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the SEC).  The Company believes that all forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions when made; however,  it is impossible to predict actual results or outcomes or the effects of risks, uncertainties or other factors on anticipated results or outcomes with certainty and that, accordingly, one should not place undue reliance on these statements.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements in light of subsequent events or developments. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results or outcomes discussed in any forward-looking statement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SOURCE Vitamin Shoppe, Inc.