Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter 2014 Results

Fourth Quarter 2014 Highlights:

– Total revenue increased 13.1%

– Total comparable sales grew 2.1%

– E-commerce revenues increased 5.6%

– Fully diluted GAAP Earnings per Share of $0.38, or $0.41 per share excluding acquisition related costs

NORTH BERGEN, N.J., Feb. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. (NYSE: VSI), a multi-channel specialty retailer and manufacturer of nutritional products, today announced preliminary results for the three months ended December 27, 2014. Total net sales in the fourth quarter increased 13.1% to $290.1 million compared to $256.4 million in the same period of the prior year. Reported fully-diluted earnings per share in fourth quarter 2014 were $0.38, compared with $0.37 in fourth quarter 2013. Excluding acquisition and integration related costs of $0.03 and $0.01 per share, adjusted earnings per share were $0.41 in fourth quarter 2014 and $0.38 in fourth quarter 2013.

Commenting on the quarter’s results, Tony Truesdale, Chief Executive Officer of the Company stated, “Throughout the year, the vitamin, mineral and supplements industry faced many headwinds. Although our comparable sales were not as robust as we had become accustomed to, our broad product selection and attractive value proposition enabled us to deliver our 37th consecutive quarter and 21st consecutive year of positive comparable sales.”

Fourth Quarter 2014 Results
Sales growth in the quarter was driven by: 1) a 1.7% increase in comparable retail store sales, 2) a 5.6% increase in e-commerce sales, 3) growth from non-comp stores, and 4) manufacturing revenue of $18.9 million. Total comparable sales, which include e-commerce sales, were 2.1%.

Cost of goods sold, which includes product, distribution, manufacturing and store occupancy costs, increased $24.8 million, or 14.5%, to $195.5 million for the three months ended December 27, 2014, compared with $170.7 million for the three months ended December 28, 2013.

Gross profit increased $8.9 million, or 10.4%, to $94.6 million for 2014 fourth quarter, compared with $85.7 million for fourth quarter 2013. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 32.6% for the quarter ended December 27, 2014, compared to 33.4% in fourth quarter 2013. The decrease was mainly attributable to the impact of the Nutri-Force acquisition and deleverage on store occupancy costs partially offset by increases in vendor allowances.

Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A), including operating payroll and related benefits, advertising expense, depreciation and amortization, and other SG&A, increased $8.1 million, or 12.2%, to $74.9 million for the quarter ended December 27, 2014, compared with $66.8 million for the quarter ended December 28, 2013. SG&A includes approximately $1.4 million of acquisition-related costs. SG&A for fourth quarter 2013 included integration related expenses for Super Supplements of approximately $0.5 million. Reported SG&A as a percentage of net sales was 25.8% for fourth quarter 2014 compared with 26.0% in fourth quarter 2013. Excluding non-operating items for both periods, SG&A as a percent of revenue was 25.3% in fourth quarter 2014 and 25.9% in fourth quarter 2013. This decrease in SG&A rate was mainly driven by the lower SG&A rate at Nutri-Force and lower incentive compensation costs, partially offset by higher store payroll and depreciation & amortization costs.

Income from operations in fourth quarter 2014 of $19.7 million compared to $18.9 million in the same period of the prior year. As a percentage of net sales, income from operations was 6.8% for fourth quarter 2014 compared with 7.4% for fourth quarter 2013. Adjusted for non-operating costs in both periods, income from operations as a percentage of sales was 7.3% in fourth quarter 2014 and 7.6% in fourth quarter 2013.

Net income was $11.6 million for fourth quarter 2014 compared to $11.2 million in the same period of the prior year. Reported earnings per diluted share were $0.38 in fourth quarter 2014 compared with $0.37 in fourth quarter 2013. Acquisition-related costs were incurred in both fourth quarter 2014 and 2013 of $0.03 and $0.01 per share, respectively.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
Cash and equivalents at December 27, 2014 were $12.2 million. At year end, the company had no long-term debt and $8.0 million drawn on its revolver, which was subsequently repaid in January 2015.

Capital expenditures were $12.2 million in the quarter. Funds were primarily expended on new stores, remodels as well as IT equipment.

During the quarter, under the company’s previously announced $50 million Accelerated Share Repurchase (ASR) program, the company repurchased 982,714 shares of its common stock.

Full Year 2014 Highlights

  • Total revenue increased 11.5%
  • E-commerce revenues increased 12.0%
  • Total comparable sales grew 3.7%
  • Opened 61 stores
  • Fully diluted GAAP earnings per share of $2.00, or $2.20 per share excluding acquisition related costs
  • Acquired Nutri-Force – company’s entrance into vertical manufacturing
  • Repurchased a total of 1,183,714 of its common shares

2015 Outlook

Management expects the following for 2015:

  • Net sales increase of approximately 10%
  • Total comparable sales growth, including e-commerce, of 2% – 4% for the year
  • Approximately 60 new stores
  • Earnings per diluted share of approximately $2.36 to $2.46 for the full-year

Webcast
Management will host a conference call to discuss the fourth quarter 2014 results at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) today. Interested investors and other parties may listen to the simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging onto the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.vitaminshoppe.com. A telephonic replay will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET on February 24, 2015 and can be accessed by dialing 1-877-870-5176 or 1-858-384-5517 for international callers. The passcode for the replay is 9979651. The replay will be available until 11:59 p.m. ET on March 3, 2015. The webcast will also be archived on the company’s website at www.vitaminshoppe.com in the investor relations section.

About the Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. (NYSE: VSI)
Vitamin Shoppe is a multi-channel specialty retailer and contract manufacturer of nutritional products based in North Bergen, New Jersey. In its stores and on its websites, the Company carries one of the most comprehensive retail assortments in the industry, including vitamins, minerals, specialty supplements, herbs, sports nutrition, homeopathic remedies, green living products, and beauty aids. In addition to offering 900 national brand products, the Vitamin Shoppe also carries products under The Vitamin Shoppe®, BodyTech®, True Athlete®, MyTrition®, plntTM, ProBioCareTM , Next StepTM, Betancourt and Nutri-Force Sports® brands. The Vitamin Shoppe conducts business through more than 700 company-operated retail stores under The Vitamin Shoppe, Super Supplements and Vitapath retail banners, and primarily through its website, www.VitaminShoppe.com. Follow the Vitamin Shoppe on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/THEVITAMINSHOPPE and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VitaminShoppe.

Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking statements”. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectations or beliefs concerning future events and actual results of operations may differ materially from historical results or current expectations. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including the strength of the economy, changes in the overall level of consumer spending, the performance of the Company’s products within the prevailing retail environment, trade restrictions, availability of suitable store locations at appropriate terms, the availability of raw materials, compliance with regulations, certifications and best practices with respect to the development, manufacture, sales and marketing of the company’s products and other factors which are further described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2013 and in all filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made by the Company subsequent to the filing of the Form 10-K. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required to do so by law.



TABLE 1

VITAMIN SHOPPE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

Fiscal Year Ended

December 27,

December 28,

December 27,

December 28,

2014

2013

2014

2013

Net sales

$ 290,082

$ 256,427

$ 1,213,046

$ 1,087,469

Cost of goods sold

195,493

170,733

808,787

709,823

Gross profit

94,589

85,694

404,259

377,646

Selling, general and administrative expenses

74,895

66,769

301,603

267,354

Income from operations

19,694

18,925

102,656

110,292

Interest expense, net

170

120

495

495

Income before provision for income taxes

19,524

18,805

102,161

109,797

Provision for income taxes

7,915

7,586

40,920

43,251

Net income

$ 11,609

$ 11,219

$ 61,241

$ 66,546

Weighted average common shares outstanding

Basic

29,973,331

30,068,843

30,239,183

29,992,620

Diluted

30,352,856

30,651,599

30,664,105

30,541,057

Net income per common share

Basic

$ 0.39

$ 0.37

$ 2.03

$ 2.22

Diluted

$ 0.38

$ 0.37

$ 2.00

$ 2.18

TABLE 2

VITAMIN SHOPPE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

SEGMENT DATA, KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND STORE INFO

($ in thousands)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

Fiscal Year Ended

December 27,

December 28,

December 27,

December 28,

2014

2013

2014

2013

Net sales:

Retail

$ 239,676

$ 226,422

$ 1,042,054

$ 969,610

Direct

31,496

30,005

130,644

117,859

Manufacturing

23,155

48,102

Segment net sales

294,327

256,427

1,220,800

1,087,469

Elimination of intersegment revenues

(4,245)

(7,754)

Net sales

$ 290,082

$ 256,427

$ 1,213,046

$ 1,087,469

Income from operations:

Retail

$ 40,509

$ 38,824

$ 194,864

$ 192,439

Direct

5,039

5,393

22,755

21,930

Manufacturing

1,182

(1,830)

Corporate costs

(27,036)

(25,292)

(113,133)

(104,077)

Income from operations

$ 19,694

$ 18,925

$ 102,656

$ 110,292

Increase in total comparable net sales

2.1%

6.2%

3.7%

4.6%

Increase in comparable store net sales

1.7%

4.6%

2.8%

3.5%

Gross profit as a percent of net sales

32.6%

33.4%

33.3%

34.7%

Income from operations as a percent of net sales

6.8%

7.4%

8.5%

10.1%

Capital Expenditures

$ 12,156

$ 10,429

$ 42,957

$ 42,782

Depreciation and Amortization

$ 9,159

$ 8,014

$ 34,219

$ 28,026

Acquisition and integration costs

$ 482

$ 477

$ 4,777

$ 4,336

Inventory valuation step-up recognized in
cost of goods sold

$ –

$ –

$ 4,506

$ –

Contingent consideration for Nutri-Force acquisition

$ 959

$ –

$ 959

$ –

Insurance recoveries from Superstorm Sandy

$ –

$ –

$ –

$ 1,079

Store Data:

Stores open at beginning of period

701

640

659

579

Stores opened

17

19

61

52

Stores acquired

31

Stores closed

(1)

(3)

(3)

Stores open at end of period

717

659

717

659

Total retail square footage at end of period (in thous)

2,568

2,390

2,568

2,390

TABLE 3

VITAMIN SHOPPE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

December 27,

December 28,

2014

2013

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$ 12,166

$ 74,036

Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $1,883 at December 27, 2014

10,376

Inventories

187,027

163,921

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

29,580

31,292

Deferred income taxes

7,449

5,936

Total current assets

246,598

275,185

Property and equipment, net

140,596

120,142

Goodwill

243,269

210,633

Other intangibles, net

89,025

71,264

Other long-term assets

2,903

4,840

Total assets

$ 722,391

$ 682,064

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Revolving credit facility

$ 8,000

$ –

Accounts payable

37,396

39,106

Deferred sales

22,499

21,712

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

53,321

42,026

Total current liabilities

121,216

102,844

Deferred income taxes

9,151

11,588

Deferred rent

39,388

36,032

Other long-term liabilities

702

3,260

Commitments and contingencies

Stockholders’ equity:

Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; 250,000,000 shares authorized and no shares issued and outstanding at December 27, 2014

and December 28, 2013

Common stock, $0.01 par value; 400,000,000 shares authorized, 30,106,337 shares issued and 30,048,881 shares outstanding at

December 27, 2014, and 30,531,550 shares issued and 30,525,234 shares outstanding at December 28, 2013

301

305

Additional paid-in capital

267,083

302,314

Treasury stock, at cost; 57,456 shares at December 27, 2014 and 6,316 shares at December 28, 2013

(2,695)

(280)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(83)

(86)

Retained earnings

287,328

226,087

Total stockholders’ equity

551,934

528,340

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$ 722,391

$ 682,064

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SOURCE Vitamin Shoppe, Inc.