Family owned farm sourced pasture-raised products company Vital Farms Inc. (VITL:NASDAQ), which offers a wide range of ethically produced foods and is the largest producer of pasture-raised eggs in the U.S. by retail dollar sales, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year of 2021 ended December 26, 2021.
Vital Farms highlighted that net revenue in Q4/21 increased by 43.4% year-over-year to a record $77.4 million, compared to $54.0 million in Q4/20.
The company advised that most of the growth experienced in Q4/21 was due to continued growth in egg-related sales along with an increase in butter-related sales.
The firm stated that in Q4/21 it posted a net loss of $3.6 million or a loss of $0.09 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $0.8 million, or a loss of $0.02 per diluted share in Q4/20.
For FY/21, the company indicated that net revenue rose by 21.8% to $260.9 million, versus $214.3 million during FY/20.
Vital Farms stated that for FY/21 it earned net income $2.4 million and adjusted EBITDA of $8.0 million, compared to $8.0 million and $16.8 million, respectively in FY/20.
The company's President and CEO Russell Diez-Canseco commented, "2021 was a great year for Vital Farms' top-line growth, and I want to thank our stakeholders, including our crew members, farmers, suppliers, customers, and consumers, for their role in enabling us to deliver strong performance in Q4, achieving our highest net revenue in a single quarter behind continued robust demand for our products. We made significant gains in retail distribution and increased Vital Farms' household penetration 15% sequentially to over 6.4 million households. Additionally, our 12-count pasture raised eggs were the number one selling branded egg item in the U.S. during the fourth quarter."
"Underpinning much of this growth were thoughtful and disciplined marketing investments across every step of the consumer journey and our resilient supply chain, which now includes over 275 family farms, passionate and engaged crew members, and an expanded egg washing and packing facility that will be operational in a few months," Diez-Canseco added.
The company stated that it is well capitalized and indicated at as December 26, 2021, it had cash and other liquid assets of $99.6 million and no outstanding debt on its balance sheet.
The firm noted that in FY/21 it increased capital expenditures by $6.4 million primarily for the purpose of expanding its Egg Central Station facility which will allow the company to double production capacity in FY/22.
Vital Farms' CFO Bo Meissner stated, "We are pleased with our record fourth quarter revenue and strong level of consumer demand. We expect to continue our outsized level of top-line momentum in 2022, while navigating an ever-changing operating environment, which are reflected in our initial guidance for net revenue and Adjusted EBITDA."
The company offered some forward guidance and advised that for FY/22 it expects that net revenue will increase by 30% over FY/21 levels to greater than $340 million.
The firm added that it estimates that FY/22 adjusted EBITDA will come in at more than $13 million, representing an expected 62% increase versus FY/21.
Vital Farms is based in Austin, Tex. and is a nationwide provider of ethically produced animal products sourced from more than 275 small family farms. The firm claimed that it is "the leading U.S. brand of pasture-raised eggs by retail dollar sales." The company at its core is highly concerned with employing sustainable farming practices and the humane treatment of farm animals. The firm's sells its products including shell eggs, hard-boiled eggs, egg bites, liquid whole eggs, butter and ghee clarified butter in more than 20,900 stores in the U.S.
Vital Farms started the day with a market cap of around $487.7 million with approximately 40.3 million shares outstanding and a short interest of about 7.1%. VITL shares opened 7% higher today at $12.95 (+$0.85, +7.02%) over yesterday's $12.10 closing price. The stock has traded today between $12.79 and $13.8395 per share and is currently trading at $13.20 (+$1.10, +9.09%).
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