Marley Spoon Group SE reports Q1 2024 Results

EQS-News: Marley Spoon Group SE / Key word(s): Quarter Results
Marley Spoon Group SE reports Q1 2024 Results

30.04.2024 / 11:34 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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MARLEY SPOON GROUP REPORTS POSITIVE OPERATING EBITDA IN Q1 2024 WITH EUR81M IN
NET REVENUE


("Marley Spoon" or the "Company"), a leading global subscription - based
meal kit provider, reported its results for the quarter ending 31 March 2024
("Q1 2024").


Highlights:

* Q1 2024 net revenue of EUR80.7m, up nearly 10% quarter - over - quarter;

  *  Strong margin expansion with Contribution Margin in Q1 2024 of 34.4%,
    up 335 bps vs. the previous corresponding period;

* Q1 2024 Operating EBITDA of EUR0.2m, an improvement of EUR6.6m vs. the prior year;

  * Operating Cash Flow of EUR2.9m in Q1 2024 and quarter - end cash balance
    of EUR26.6m;

* Smooth transition to asset - light model in the US.

Marley Spoon's CEO Fabian Siegel, commented: " After a challenging 2023,
2024 started with a stabilization of our customer base, resulting in quarter
- over - quarter net revenue growth. This improvement on our revenue dynamic
is a result of adjustments to our marketing strategy made at the end of Q3
2023, including greater focus on higher quality customer cohorts and lower
discounts. It is great to see the benefits of these adjustments, such as
improved customer retention, materializing. Noticeably, consumer se ntiment
also stabilized.

At the same time, the team worked hard on executing our strategic shift to
an asset - light model for our US business which is expected to provide us
with a scalable platform at an improved cost structure. The transition has
been smooth with our meal - kit business havin g been transferred in early
February. Since then, customer satisfaction has remained high, and the first
cost savings have been realized. At the same time, our US team has begun
integrating our newly acquired bistroMD operations. The combination of
strong operational execution globally and our lower - discount marketing
strategy led to a record contribution margin for the quarter, significantly
up year - on - year.

The higher contribution margin paired with cost reductions as a result of
last year's restructuring programs led to the first ever profitable first
quarter on an Operating EBITDA level, despite the seasonally higher
marketing investments. Overall, we had a good start to the year with heavy
lifting on the execution of two transformative strategic transactions and
year - over - year improved financial performance. I want to thank everybody
at Marley Spoon for their teamwork that allowed us to deliver a good start
into the year."


Q1 2024 Business Update

Q1 2024 net revenue landed at EUR80.7m, a decline of 9.5% in constant currency
year - over - year, but up 10% Q - o - Q (3% excluding bistroMD). The
improved revenue trajectory is driven by an adjusted customer acquisition
strategy focusing on higher quality custome r cohorts at lower discounts,
implemented at the end of Q3 2023. Also, the company is experiencing a
stabilization of consumer sentiment, leading to improvements in order
frequency. A 14% (in constant currency) increase Y - o - Y in AOV was
primarily driven by customers opting for higher - priced recipes and
incremental Market items. Pricing also accounted for the increase in AOV,
though to a lower degree than in the previous corresponding period (PCP).

The improved marketing performance allowed the Company to reduce its
marketing investments in Q1 2024 to 17.1% of net revenue compared to 22.5%
of net revenue in the PCP.

Marley Spoon achieved strong Contribution Margin (CM) expansion in the
quarter, driven by its focus on continuous improvement and cost management,
as well as the lower level of marketing discounts given. As a result, Q1
2024 CM was up 335 bps vs. the PCP to 34.4%, the highest margin on record
for the Company. Q1 2024 Operating Contribution Margin ("Operating CM"),
defined as CM excluding the impacts of marketing vouchers and fixed costs
such as expenses relating to site leases, was lower at 40.9% compared to the
PCP of 43.7%. This was driven by a conscious decision to provide more value
to customers and re - invest in recipe ingredients.

During Q1 the Company transitioned to an asset - light manufacturing and
fulfillment model and effectively moved all US meal - kit operations to its
partner FreshRealm. The transition succeeded smoothly with customer
satisfaction remaining high while first cos t savings in the logistics area
were achieved.

G&A decreased approximately 3% vs. the PCP, excluding the impact of one -
off costs in connection with the strategic transactions in Q1 and follow -
on costs of the restructuring in 2023. This is a result of the Company's
financial discipline and continued cos t reduction program which is expected
to yield incremental process optimizations and savings through automation
and business service centralization over the coming quarters.

The margin improvement and G&A savings led to Marley Spoon's first ever
positive Q1 Operating EBITDA of EUR0.2m, an improvement of EUR6.6m vs. the PCP.


RECONFIRMING 2024 GUIDANCE

Marley Spoon CFO, Jennifer Bernstein, commented, "We are pleased with how we
began the year, stabilizing or improving on our key revenue metrics,
delivering our strongest contribution margin on record and continuing to
operate with a leaner cost structure as a result of the cost reduction
programs we executed in 2023. This led to the Company's first profitable Q1
on record on an Operating EBITDA level despite the seasonally higher
investment in marketing. Our financial performance in Q1 allows us to
reconfi rm our guidance for the full year 2024."

2024 Guidance:

* Single - digit net revenue growth vs. FY 2023 in constant currency

* Contribution Margin in line with the prior year

* Full - year mid - single - digit positive Operating EBITDA

About Marley Spoon

Marley Spoon Group SE, is a global direct - to - consumer (DTC) meal - kit
company. Our Vision is to "Build a better everyday, just for you, just
right". We started Marley Spoon in 2014 to help our customers to cook for
their families and deal with their busy li ves. We also felt there should be
a more sustainable way to cook at home, reducing food waste that traditional
supermarket supply chains generate. Marley Spoon currently operates various
brands in three regions: Australia, the United States, and Europe (Au stria,
Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands). Our meal - kit brands, Marley Spoon,
Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon, and Dinnerly, bring pre - portioned fresh
ingredients with tasty and simple recipes and other eating solutions
reliably to our customers every we ek. Our customers just decide what to
eat, when to eat, and

leave behind the hassle of grocery shopping. Chefgood and bistroMD are our
direct - to - consumer ready - to - heat (RTH) services that offer tasty,
high - quality, healthy, and nutritious RTH meals and eating solutions for
our wellness and health - focused customers.

Disclaimer

This announcement constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to
buy securities. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute
"forward - looking statements" that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Forward - looking statemen ts are generally identiable by
the use of the words "may", "will", "should", "plan", "expect",
"anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "project", "goal" or "target"
or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or
comparable ter minology. Forward - looking statements are based on
assumptions, forecasts, estimates, projections, opinions or plans that are
inherently subject to signicant risks, as well as uncertainties and
contingencies that are subject to change. No representation is made or will
be made by Marley Spoon Group SE or any of their respective affiliates that
any forward - looking statement will be achieved or will prove to be
correct. The actual future business, nancial position, results of
operations and prospects may dif fer materially from those projected or
forecast in the forward - looking statements. Neither Marley Spoon Group SE
nor any of their respective affiliates assume any obligation to update, and
do not expect to publicly update, or publicly revise, any forward - l ooking
statements or other information contained in this release, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise
required by law.


Please see here for further details:
Q1 statement / Q1 financial report 2024
Investor presentation with Q1 2024


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   Language:       English
   Company:        Marley Spoon Group SE
                   9 Rue de Bitbourg
                   1273 Luxembourg
                   Luxemburg
   E-mail:         ir@marleyspoon.com
   Internet:       www.marleyspoongroup.com
   ISIN:           LU2380748603, LU2380748785
   WKN:            A3C81B
   Listed:         Regulated Market in Frankfurt (General Standard);
                   Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Munich,
                   Stuttgart
   EQS News ID:    1892849

End of News EQS News Service
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1892849 30.04.2024 CET/CEST