Westrock Coffee Co. of Little Rock (Nasdaq: WEST) reported a net loss of $17.7 million for the quarter that ended June 30, an improvement of the loss of $26.8 million it posted in the same quarter in 2023.
But the publicly traded coffee, tea and extracts company touted that production started in its $300 million extract and ready-to-drink plant in Conway.
“We are in full production and sales mode on our multi-serve bottle line,” Scott T. Ford, CEO and co-founder, said during an earnings call Thursday afternoon.
He also said that Westrock completed the startup of its ready-to-drink canning line, and expects to begin commercial sales from that line in the second half of this year. “We have several new commitments in hand that we expect will completely fill our RTD can line over the next 18 months,” Ford said.
The company is on target to complete its glass bottle line later this year, as well. Westrock’s multi-serve bottle line has added a second production shift because of demand.
Ford said that Westrock was “extremely pleased” with every key performance metric except for unit sales in its single-serve cup segment this quarter.
He said the drop in sales is tied to higher interest rates and fuel costs that “absorb a disproportionately higher portion of their disposable income.”
Net sales for the quarter were $208.4 million, a drop of 7.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
Westrock’s Beverage Solutions segment generated $163.3 million sales in the second quarter, a decline of 16.1% from the same quarter in 2023.
Its Sustainable Sourcing & Traceability segment generated $45.1 million in sales in the quarter, an increase from the $35 million in the same period last year.
Its net loss for the quarter included $13.6 million of startup costs tied to its Conway plant and $4.4 million of transaction, restructuring and integration expenses.
Meanwhile, Westrock’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the quarter was $13.7 million, an increase of $2.4 million from the same quarter a year ago.
For 2024, Westrock revised its guidance for adjusted EBITDA to be between $60 million and $65 million, down from between $60 million and $80 million.
Westrock also reaffirmed its preliminary guidance for adjusted EBITDA of $115 million for fiscal year 2025.
Sign up for Daily E-news
