EMERGE Commerce Ltd. (ECOM) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and welcome to the EMERGE Conference Fourth Quarter and Annual 2024 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded on April 28, 2025. Your hosts today are Ghassan Halazon, Founder and Chief Executive Officer; and Dasha Enenko, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I am required to provide the following statement respecting forward-looking information, which is made on behalf of EMERGE and all its representatives on this call. Certain statements made on this call will contain forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as intend, believe, could, expect, estimate, forecast, may and other words of similar meaning. This forward-looking information is based on our opinions, estimates, and assumptions. In light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors that we currently believe are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. Actual results could differ materially from a conclusion, forecast, expectation, belief or projection in the forward-looking information. Certain material factors and assumptions were applied in drawing a conclusion or making forecast or projection as reflected in the forward-looking information. We caution investors not to rely on the forward-looking information. Additional information about the material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the conclusion, forecast or projection in the forward-looking information and material factors and assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection as reflected in the forward-looking information are contained in EMERGE's filings with Canadian provincial securities regulators. During this call, all figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Mr. Ghassan Halazon, Founder and CEO.

Thank you very much. Good morning, everyone. We appreciate you taking the time to participate in our fourth quarter and year-end conference call. Joining me today is Dasha Enenko, our CFO. This morning, I will walk through the noteworthy operational progress we are making at EMERGE and share some insights on our business, including our recent acquisition as well as our priorities for the balance of 2025. Following my remarks, Dasha will provide further details on our financial results, after which I will conclude the call with some closing remarks. In early 2024, we outlined our key priorities for the year, those being: one, to reignite organic revenue growth; two, to significantly improve profitability and three, to substantially reduce debt. As we report our audited full year results this morning, we are pleased to share that we have clearly and decisively delivered on all 3 key objectives. Let's dive in. Our #1 priority last year was to reignite growth. 2024 was the year we finally managed to reverse a multiyear come down from the artificially high peak pandemic levels. Revenue for the year grew to $20.4 million versus $19.6 million in 2023. Excluding Carnivore Club, a legacy noncore business that was subsequently sold in January 2025, EMERGE's revenue increased to $19.3 million versus $17.7 million in 2023, representing annual growth of 9%. Our #2 priority was to enhance profitability. We are pleased to share that annual adjusted EBITDA improved dramatically to negative $464,000 versus negative $1.8 million in 2023, essentially a $1.3 million positive swing driven by our top line growth, coupled with enhanced gross profit and streamlined overhead expenses in relation to our EMERGE 2.0 business model, which entails a more centralized approach with less required HQ resources to service our more focused grocery and golf portfolio. Perhaps nowhere is our progress more evident than in our Q4 results we reported this morning, the culmination of the team's hard work all year round. Revenue growth accelerated to our highest level all year for our go-forward business. Excluding Carnival Club, EMERGE's revenue grew to $5.3 million versus $4.6 million, representing growth of 15%. This marks our third consecutive quarter of positive organic revenue growth. Worth noting both truLOCAL and the Golf business achieved strong organic growth in Q4. Beyond top line progress, the team's efforts in Q4 also translated into meaningful year-over-year gains across gross profit, adjusted EBITDA, and net income. Our improved adjusted EBITDA result is particularly notable. Q4 adjusted EBITDA came in at negative $11,000 in Q4 versus negative $345,000 in the prior period. This close to breakeven result reflects the progress being made across the P&L, including the previously announced cost reductions that were partially reflected in Q4 and will fully be reflected in Q1 '25 onwards. Management expects these savings and additional savings commissioned since then should have a significant impact on our go-forward profitability in 2025. Now I will share a few pertinent updates from events subsequent to year-end. It's been a busy start to 2025. In January, EMERGE completed the asset sale of Carnivore Club for a total purchase price of $500,000. As mentioned, Carnivore Club was a legacy noncore asset and EMERGE was actively eliminating its revenue in 2024, while prioritizing the growth of our larger, more profitable businesses. In 2024 results include Carnivore Club. Q1 2025 will be the first financial report to classify Carnivore Club as discontinued operations with prior period results to reflect the reclassification where noted. On April 4, 2025, EMERGE closed the acquisition of all the issued and outstanding shares of Tee 2 Green, or T2G for short. T2G is a profitable discount golf apparel and equipment business with a 38-year track record of operations, focused on the Canadian market. T2G achieved revenue of $6.4 million, adjusted EBITDA of $1 million, and net income of positive $700,000 in 2024, unaudited. T2G is expected to be highly synergistic with EMERGE's extensive golf business, which includes UnderPar and JustGolfStuff, along with a 400,000-plus golf subscriber database to help scale T2G's business cost effectively. EMERGE was able to utilize the cash proceeds from the Carnivore Club transaction as well as the sale of the Shop domains to Shopify towards closing the T2G acquisition without the need for a capital raise to complete the deal. Now for an update on the debt side. In January 2024, we paid down our senior credit facility by $10 million following the sale of WholesalePet, bringing the facility down to $5.85 million from $15.85 million and originally $25 million. Alongside the acquisition of T2G on April 4, '25, the company also entered into a first amendment to the second amended and restated credit agreement dated January 31, 2024, with its existing lender, which amends the company's current agreement. The amended facility provides an 18-month extension and an additional 6-month extension option, provided that lender consent is obtained. Inclusive of the 6-month extension, the amended facility would mature in April 2027. The company remains in good standing with its existing lender, which it has worked with since November 2019. In addition to the recent interest rate cuts as well as the highly anticipated upcoming rate reductions are expected to result in meaningful cash savings for the business given our variable rate under the facility. We believe that our improving operational results, coupled with the addition of T2G's profitable profile as well as our reduced overall debt levels following the sale of WholesalePet in the year, along with a more favorable interest rate climate could lead to the possibility of securing cheaper, alternative refinancing options, further driving savings and improving cash flow. Management is seeing continued operational momentum and expects to drive continued revenue growth and improved profitability in 2025. truLOCAL, our flagship Canadian meat and seafood subscription brand, has been a benefactor of the Buy Canadian movement sweeping the country with strong expected revenue growth, profitability and operational metrics overall. Our discounted golf experiences and products vertical, which includes UnderPar, JustGolfStuff, and now T2G is expected to continue to gain from the weakening macro climate given the recession-friendly nature of the business model. The addition of T2G starting Q2 '25, is expected to substantially enhance the company's revenue, profitability and cash flow profile, and in the process, strengthen its balance sheet and potentially improve its cost of capital over time. Now moving to our top priorities in 2025, building on our progress in '24. Our priorities are to: one, accelerate revenue growth; two, extract further operational efficiencies and synergy to drive profitability; and three, opportunistically explore avenues to enhance cash flow and reduce interest expense. To sum up, focus has proven to be a wonderful thing. Our more streamlined strategy and direct oversight of our brands is starting to pay dividends, and we are excited to build on this momentum. Finally, I would like to offer our sincere gratitude to our resilient and determined team, Board, shareholders, and trusted partners as we deliver another growth quarter, our third consecutive and look to build on this momentum in the final quarter in 2025 and beyond. I will now turn the call over to Dasha for a review of our financial results.

Thank you, Ghassan. Good morning, everyone. Our fiscal 2024 includes our first year reporting without Battlbox Group, WagJag, and WholesalePet business compared to 2023. Our gross merchandise sales, or GMS, grew 7% to $33 million in 2024, while for the fourth quarter, it increased by 13% to $9.6 million, up from $8.5 million in the comparative period last year. As a reminder, GMS is a non-GAAP measure and represents the total dollar value of customer purchases of goods and services through all our brands, excluding applicable taxes and net of discounts and refunds. Revenue for the year grew 4% to $20.4 million in 2024. And excluding Carnivore Club, which was sold in January 2025, annual revenue increased to $19.3 million, up from $17.7 million in the prior year, representing year-over-year growth of 9%. For Q4, our revenue increased to $5.6 million, up 9% from $5.1 million in Q4 2023. And excluding Carnivore Club, which was sold in January 2025, revenue for Q4 was $5.3 million, up from $4.6 million in the prior comparative period, representing growth of 15%. This marked the company's third consecutive quarter of organic growth and the highest quarterly growth achieved in 2024. Gross profit for the year increased to $8.2 million versus $7.6 million in the prior year. For the quarter, gross profit increased to $2.2 million compared to $2.1 million in the comparative period. The net loss for the year was $0.5 million with positive net income for the fourth quarter of $0.23 million. This is compared to a net loss of $21 million and $17 million for the same period in the prior year. The improvement in net income is primarily attributable to a goodwill and intangibles impairment charge of $16 million in prior fiscal period, in addition to improved operating results driven by sales growth, higher gross profit, and reduced SG&A expenses. Overall for the year, adjusted EBITDA loss decreased to $466,000 from $1.8 million in 2023. The company recorded adjusted EBITDA loss for the fourth quarter of $11,000 compared to $345,000 in Q4 2023. These improvements reflect the company's efforts to prioritize organic growth, focus on profitable operations, and discontinue unprofitable business lines. Finally, cash on hand as of December 31, 2024, was $3.1 million versus $2.5 million in 2023. I will now pass the microphone back to Ghassan for some closing comments.

Thank you, Dasha. 2024 was by all means a transformative year, particularly so in Q4. We reignited organic revenue growth, improved profitability, streamlined the business, drastically reduced debt, and grew our cash position year-over-year without a capital raise. We are seeing continued operational progress and momentum year-to-date, and the Tee 2 Green acquisition is expected to supercharge our growth and profitability to new heights in 2025, starting Q2 onwards. Fortunately, our portfolio is exceptionally well positioned to gain from the challenging climate facing most businesses today. truLOCAL, really has a special opportunity to emerge as one of the faces of the support local movement in Canada, and we are seeing that potential start to reflect in our operating metrics, including a 193% increase in net new subscriptions in February 2025. Our discount golf business continues to strengthen as the economy weakens. We hope investors are satisfied to see that we have delivered on our 2024 key priorities with precision as well as the continued progress we have shared so far in '25 to date. Thank you very much, everyone, for joining us today and for your continued interest in EMERGE Commerce. We look forward to reporting our Q1 2025 results in late May. Have a nice day, everyone. Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.