Inventure Foods, Inc. Reports Record Fourth Quarter And Full Year Results

Inventure Foods, Inc., a specialty food maker and marketer serving the vending industry in addition to other retail channels, reported record financial results for the fourth quarter and year ending Dec. 25, 2010, highlighted by the company's continued brand investment and broader product distribution.  

Inventure generated net revenue for the quarter of $33.6 million, an increase of 20.3 percent versus the prior year fourth quarter, which was attributable to strong gains in both the Snack and Rader Divisions. Snack Division revenues for the quarter were $20.7 million, an increase of 8.9 percent compared to the prior year quarter. Boulder Canyon Natural Foods™ led the way with sales growth of 62.8 percent, while private label increased 16.7 percent and T.G.I. Friday's® experienced a return to growth, up 3.6 percent for the quarter.  These gains were partially offset by continued softness in Burger King™, which was down 8.8 percent for the quarter.

The Rader Division, which includes Jamba® All Natural Smoothies, was up 44.5 percent for the quarter. Excluding Jamba®, Rader Division sales increased 35.6 percent for the quarter, reflecting continued volume growth and a price increase. Jamba® net revenues were $0.8 million ($1.2 million gross), which was in line with company expectations as this category typically experiences a holiday slowdown during the months of November and December.

Consolidated net income for the quarter was $0.6 million, or $0.03 per fully diluted share, includes a charge for the write-off of $0.6 million of old trademarks. Excluding the write-off, EPS would have been $0.05 per fully diluted share, compared to $0.03 in 2009.

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA, adjusted for the trademark write-offs, for the quarter was $2.8 million, or 8.2 percent of net revenue, an increase of 39.2 percent and 110 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

Other fourth quarter financial highlights include:

• Gross profit of $7.1 million, or 21.2 percent of revenues, up 52.9 percent and 450 basis points compared to last year. Key drivers of the increase included volume growth at Rader Farms and the impact of the Rader Farms price increase during the quarter.
• Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses, excluding the impact of the trademark write-off, were $5.4 million, or 16.2 percent of revenues, an increase of $1.8 million and 330 basis points compared to the year-ago period. The increase was primarily due to investments in both Boulder Canyon™ and Jamba®, including additional hiring and increased marketing and sampling expenses.

Net revenues for 2010 were $134.0 million, an increase of 10.7 percent compared to 2009. Snack division revenues were $85.5 million, an increase of 6.1 percent from last year. Improved results included an increase in Boulder Canyon™ revenues of 61.6 percent, while T.G.I. Friday's® was virtually flat and Burger King™ was down 8.2 percent for the year.

Rader division revenues were $48.5 million, an increase of 19.9 percent from last year. Excluding Jamba®, Rader revenues for the year were up 11.4 percent, reflecting continued growth in both existing and new customers. Jamba® revenues were $3.4 million ($4.9 million gross) for the year, which exceeded all internal expectations.

Consolidated net income for the year was $4.5 million, or $0.24 per fully diluted share, compared to $3.8 million, or $0.21 per fully diluted share, in 2009. Excluding the trademark write-offs, EPS was $0.26 on a fully diluted basis.

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA totaled $11.9 million, an increase of 12.6 percent over last year, despite a $4.7 million increase in SG&A compared to 2009.

Other full-year financial highlights include:

• Gross profit of $28.8 million, or 21.5 percent of revenues, an increase of 20.9 percent and 180 basis points compared to last year.
• SG&A Expenses, excluding the trademark write-offs, were $20.8 million, or 15.5 percent of revenues, an increase of $4.1 million, or 170 basis points compared to the prior year.