-- Sustained Strong Margin Expansion --

CHINO, Calif., Aug. 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Karat Packaging Inc. (Nasdaq: KRT) (“Karat” or the “Company”), a specialty distributor and manufacturer of environmentally friendly, disposable foodservice products and related items, today announced financial results for its quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Second Quarter 2023 Highlights

• Quarterly net sales of $108.7 million, down 5.3 percent from the prior-year quarter.
• Gross profit of $41.9 million, up 23.3 percent from the prior-year quarter.
• Gross margin of 38.5 percent versus 29.6 percent in the prior-year quarter.
• Net income of $10.7 million, up 48.3 percent from the prior-year quarter.
• Net income margin of 9.8 percent versus 6.3 percent in the prior-year quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $21.1 million, up $9.3 million, or 78.6 percent from the prior-year quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.4 percent versus 10.3 percent in the prior-year quarter.
  

2023 Guidance

• Net sales for the 2023 third quarter expected to decrease 3 to 4 percentage, compared with prior-year period, primarily due to implementation delays by new chain accounts and in opening new warehouses, and lower revenue from logistics services and shipping fees.
• Net sales for the 2023 fourth quarter expected to increase 10 to 15 percent over the prior year period.
• Net sales for the 2023 full year expected to decrease by low single digits.
• Gross margin goal for the 2023 full year: 36 to 37 percent versus 31.2 percent for 2022.
• Eco-friendly product sales objective for the 2023 full year: 35 percent of total sales, compared with 27 in 2022.

“Karat achieved excellent second quarter results, despite net sales being impacted by price reductions and lower revenue from logistics services and shipping charges, as we had anticipated,” said Alan Yu, Chief Executive Officer. “Sales of our core products grew during the quarter, with volume increasing five percent over the prior year period, and we again experienced solid demand for our eco-friendly products.

“Gross margin remained at record level, as we continued to implement our strategic initiatives, which include reducing our manufacturing footprint in certain locations, increasing import items and improving inventory management and fill-rates.

“We continued to generate strong operating cash flow, and as announced earlier today, our Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $0.40 per share, along with approving a quarterly cash dividend policy and declaring a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share. These distributions demonstrate the board’s confidence in Karat’s future and commitment to returning value to our shareholders,” Mr. Yu added.

Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

Net sales for the 2023 second quarter decreased 5.3 percent to $108.7 million, from $114.9 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to price reductions, as the Company proactively passed on savings from ocean freight and raw material costs to customers, as well as lower logistics services and shipping revenue, partially offset by an increase in volume and change in product mix.

Gross profit for the 2023 second quarter increased 23.3 percent from $34.0 million in the prior-year quarter to $41.9 million, which included a $1.7 million write-off of raw materials associated with our disposal of certain machinery and equipment in executing the plan to scale back production in certain locations.

Gross margin increased to 38.5 percent in the 2023 second quarter, including a 160-basis-point impact from the write-off of raw materials associated with the disposal of certain machinery as discussed above, from 29.6 percent for the same quarter last year. The margin expansion primarily reflected a significant decrease in ocean freight costs. Ocean freight cost as a percentage of net sales was 6.2 percent during the 2023 second quarter, down from 18.0 percent for the same quarter last year. Despite the unfavorable impact from the inventory write-offs, along with price reductions, gross margin benefited from initiatives to increase imported products; scale back manufacturing in high-cost states such as California; shift toward high-margin eco-friendly products, and enhance operating efficiencies.

Operating expenses in the 2023 second quarter were $28.5 million, or 26.2 percent of net sales, compared with $26.2 million, or 22.8 percent of net sales, in the prior-year quarter. The increase was primarily due to an impairment expense and loss on disposal of machinery of $2.5 million, as well as workforce expansion, higher marketing expense to support online sales growth, and higher rental expense from the additional leased warehouses. The increase in operating expenses was partially offset by a decrease in shipping and transportation costs and bad debt expense.

Operating income in the 2023 second quarter increased 71 percent to $13.3 million, or 12.3 percent of net sales, compared with $7.8 million, or 6.8 percent of net sales, in the prior-year quarter.

Other income totaled $0.7 million in the 2023 second quarter, compared with $1.1 million in the prior-year quarter, which primarily included a gain on foreign currency transactions of $0.9 million.

The effective tax rate for the 2023 second quarter was 23.7 percent, compared with 19.5 percent for the prior-year quarter, with the increase primarily due to the change in the non-taxable non-controlling interest income.

Net income for the 2023 second quarter increased 48.3 percent to $10.7 million, from $7.2 million for the same quarter last year. Net income margin rose to 9.8 percent in the 2023 second quarter, from 6.3 percent a year ago.

Net income attributable to Karat in the 2023 second quarter advanced to $10.5 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, from $6.3 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure defined below, increased to $21.1 million in the 2023 second quarter, compared with $11.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin, a non-GAAP measure defined below, rose to 19.4 percent of net sales, compared with 10.3 percent in the prior-year quarter.

Adjusted diluted earnings per common share, a non-GAAP measure defined below, rose to $0.69 per share, from $0.34 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Six-Month 2023 Financial Results

Net sales for the first six months of 2023 decreased 7.2 percent to $204.5 million, from $220.3 million in the same period last year.

Gross profit for the first six months of 2023 increased 17.2 percent to $80.0 million, from $68.3 million in the same period last year. Gross margin for the first six months of 2023 increased to 39.1 percent, including a 80-basis-point impact from the write-off of raw materials associated with the disposal of certain machinery as discussed above, from 31.0 percent in the same period last year. The margin expansion was primarily due to a significant decrease in ocean freight costs. Ocean freight cost as a percentage of net sales was 6.1 percent during the first six months of 2023, down from 16.3 percent for the same period in 2022.

Operating expenses were $53.9 million for the first half of 2023, compared with $51.0 million in the same period last year.

Operating income increased 50.8 percent to $26.1 million for the first half of 2023, or 12.7 percent of net sales, compared with $17.3 million, or 7.8 percent of net sales, in the same period last year.

Total other expense, net was $0.1 million in the first half of 2023, compared with total other income, net of $2.3 million in the same period last year, which consisted primarily of gains associated with interest rate swap and foreign currency transactions.

Net income increased 31.2 percent to $19.9 million for the first half of 2023, from $15.1 million in the same period last year. Net income margin increased to 9.7 percent in the first half of 2023, compared with 6.9 percent in the same period last year. Net income attributable to Karat was $19.5 million, or $0.98 per diluted share, for the first half of 2023, compared with $13.0 million, or $0.65 per diluted share, in the same period last year.

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure defined below, increased to $36.4 million in the first six months of 2023, compared with $24.8 million in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA margin, a non-GAAP measure defined below, increased to 17.8 percent in the 2023 year-to-date period, compared with 11.3 percent in the same period last year.

Adjusted diluted earnings per common share, a non-GAAP measure defined below, rose to $1.15 per share, from $0.70 per share in the prior year-to-date period.

Investor Conference Call

The Company will host an investor conference call today, August 9, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss its 2023 second quarter results.

About Karat Packaging Inc.
Karat Packaging Inc. is a specialty distributor and manufacturer of a wide range of disposable foodservice products and related items, primarily used by national and regional restaurants and in foodservice settings throughout the United States. Its products include food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves and other products. The company’s eco-friendly Karat Earth® line offers quality, sustainably focused products that are made from renewable resources. Karat Packaging also offers customized solutions, including new product development and design, printing, and logistics services. To learn more about Karat Packaging, please visit the company’s website at www.karatpackaging.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events. These forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, achieving our financial guidance, are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results, performance, or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” discussed under the caption “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in Part I of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or any updates discussed under the caption “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in Part II of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise that occur after that date, except as required by law.

Investor Relations and Media Contacts:

PondelWilkinson Inc.  
Judy Lin/Roger Pondel
310-279-5980
ir@karatpackaging.com

(1) The write-off of inventory and impairment expense and loss on disposal of machinery represent costs incurred in connection with the scaling back of production in certain locations. As part of the execution of this strategy, certain machinery and equipment was disposed of or impaired, and raw materials associated with those machinery and equipment were written-off.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Karat utilizes certain financial measures and key performance indicators that are not defined by, or calculated in accordance with, GAAP to assess our financial and operating performance. A non-GAAP financial measure is defined as a numerical measure of a company’s financial performance that (i) excludes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding amounts, that are included in the comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP in the statement of operations; or (ii) includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of including amounts, that are excluded from the comparable GAAP measure so calculated and presented. The following non-GAAP measures are presented in this press release:

• Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as net income before interest income and interest expense, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, write-off of certain inventory items outside the normal course of business, and impairment expense and loss on disposal of machinery outside the normal course of business.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by net sales.
• Adjusted diluted earnings per common share is calculated as diluted earnings per common share, plus the per share impact of stock-based compensation, write-off of certain inventory items outside the normal course of business, impairment expense and loss on disposal of machinery outside the normal course of business, and adjusted for the related tax effects of these adjustments.
  

We believe the above-mentioned non-GAAP measures, which are used by management to assess the core performance of Karat, provide useful information and additional clarity of our operating results to our investors in their own evaluation of the core performance of Karat and facilitate a comparison of such performance from period to period. These are not measurements of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or construed as substitutes for net income or other cash flow data prepared in accordance with GAAP for purposes of analyzing our profitability or liquidity. These measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, revenue, net income, earnings per share, cash flows or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures may not provide information that is directly comparable to that provided by other companies, as other companies may calculate such financial results differently.