Boston Beer Co Inc: Form 10-Q for the period ended Sep 28, 2024

The following is a discussion of the significant factors affecting the consolidated operating results, financial condition and liquidity and cash flows of the Company for the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended September 28, 2024, as compared to the thirteen and thirty-nine week period ended September 30, 2023. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company and Notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2023.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Thirteen Weeks Ended September 28, 2024 compared to Thirteen Weeks Ended September 30, 2023

Net revenue. Net revenue increased by $3.9 million, or 0.6%, to $605.5 million for the thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $601.6 million for the thirteen weeks ended September 30, 2023 primarily as a result of price increases of $11.2 million and lower returns of $3.2 million, partially offset by lower shipment volume of $11.4 million.

Volume. Total shipment volume decreased by 1.9% to 2,243,000 barrels for the thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to 2,286,000 barrels for the thirteen weeks ended September 30, 2023, reflecting decreases in the Company’s Truly, Dogfish Head, Samuel Adams and Angry Orchard brands, partially offset by increases in its Twisted Tea, Sun Cruiser and Hard Mountain Dew brands.

The Company believes distributor inventory as of September 28, 2024 averaged approximately five and a half weeks on hand which was slightly higher than the Company’s target level of four to five weeks. The Company expects that distributor inventory will return to target levels during the fourth quarter.

Net revenue per barrel. Net revenue per barrel increased by 2.6% to $269.94 per barrel for the thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $263.14 per barrel for the comparable period in 2023, primarily due to price increases and lower returns.

Cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold was $145.00 per barrel for the thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $143.01 per barrel for the thirteen weeks ended September 30, 2023. The 2024 increase in cost of goods sold of $1.99, or 1.4% per barrel was primarily due to increases in inventory obsolescence of $7.6 million, or $3.39 per barrel, and inflationary impacts of $3.5 million, or $1.56 per barrel, partially offset by contract renegotiations and recipe optimization savings of $6.3 million, or $2.81 per barrel.

Inflationary impacts of $3.5 million consist primarily of increased internal brewery costs of $1.8 million and increased material costs of $1.7 million.

Gross profit. Gross profit was $124.94 per barrel for the thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $120.13 per barrel for the thirteen weeks ended September 30, 2023.

The Company includes freight charges related to the movement of finished goods from its manufacturing locations to distributor locations in its advertising, promotional and selling expense line item. As such, the Company’s gross margins may not be comparable to those of other entities that classify costs related to distribution differently.

Advertising, promotional, and selling expenses. Advertising, promotional and selling expenses decreased by $4.6 million, or 3.0%, to $148.0 million for the thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $152.6 million for the thirteen weeks ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to decreased freight to distributors of $2.8 million from improved efficiencies and lower volumes. Brand and selling costs decreased $1.8 million, primarily due to lower salaries and benefit costs.

Advertising, promotional and selling expenses were 24.4% of net revenue, or $65.98 per barrel, for the thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to 25.4% of net revenue, or $66.74 per barrel, for the thirteen weeks ended September 30, 2023. This decrease per barrel is primarily due to advertising, promotional, and selling expenses decreasing at a higher rate than the decrease in shipments. The Company invests in advertising and promotional campaigns that it believes will be effective, but there is no guarantee that such investments will generate sales growth.

The Company conducts certain advertising and promotional activities in its distributors’ markets, and the distributors make contributions to the Company for such efforts. These amounts are included in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive operations as reductions to advertising, promotional and selling expenses. Historically, contributions from distributors for advertising and promotional activities have amounted to between 2% and 3% of net sales. The Company may adjust its promotional efforts in the distributors’ markets, if changes occur in these promotional contribution arrangements, depending on industry and market conditions.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by $1.6 million, or 3.7%, to $43.8 million for the thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $42.2 million for the thirteen weeks ended September 30, 2023, primarily due increased professional fees.

Impairment of intangible assets. Impairment of intangible assets reflects a $42.6 million non-cash impairment charge recorded primarily for the Dogfish Head brand, taken as a result of the Company’s annual impairment analysis as of September 1, 2024. The impairment determination was primarily based on the latest forecasts of brand performance which has been below projections made on the acquisition date. In the third quarter of 2023, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $16.4 million for the Dogfish Head brand.

Impairment of brewery assets. Impairment of brewery assets of $0.02 million decreased by $1.9 million from the comparable period of 2023, due to lower write-offs of equipment at Company-owned breweries.

Income tax provision. The Company's effective tax rate of 31.7% increased from 29.3% in the prior year. The increased effective tax rate is due to increased non-deductible compensation and the impact of the impairment charge which resulted in lower pre-tax income compared to the prior year.

Thirty-Nine Weeks Ended September 28, 2024 compared to Thirty-Nine Weeks Ended September 30, 2023

Net revenue. Net revenue decreased by $4.3 million, or 0.3%, to $1.611 billion for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $1.615 billion for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023, primarily as a result of lower shipment volume of $46.4 million, partially offset by price increases of $31.8 million and lower returns of $11.5 million.

Volume. Total shipment volume decreased by 2.9% to 5,997,000 barrels for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to 6,175,000 barrels for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023, reflecting decreases in the Company’s Truly, Hard Mountain Dew, Samuel Adams, Dogfish Head and Angry Orchard brands, partially offset by increases in its Twisted Tea and Sun Cruiser brands.

Net revenue per barrel. Net revenue per barrel increased by 2.7% to $268.57 per barrel for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $261.53 per barrel for the comparable period in 2023, primarily due to price increases and lower returns.

Cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold was $146.34 per barrel for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $147.44 per barrel for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023. The 2024 decrease in cost of goods sold of $1.10, or 0.7%, per barrel was primarily due to contract renegotiations and recipe optimization savings of $16.7 million, or $2.78 per barrel, partially offset by inflationary impacts of $11.7 million, or $1.95 per barrel.

Inflationary impacts of $11.7 million consist primarily of increased internal brewery costs of $6.5 million and material costs of $5.2 million.

Gross profit. Gross profit was $122.23 per barrel for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $114.09 per barrel for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023.

Advertising, promotional, and selling expenses. Advertising, promotional and selling expenses decreased by $14.9 million, or 3.5%, to $412.5 million for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $427.4 million for thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to decreased freight to distributors of $9.2 million from lower rates and volumes. Brand and selling costs decreased $5.7 million primarily due to lower consulting costs.

Advertising, promotional and selling expenses were 25.6% of net revenue, or $68.78 per barrel, for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to 26.5% of net revenue, or $69.21 per barrel, for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023. This decrease per barrel is primarily due to advertising, promotional, and selling expenses decreasing at a higher rate than the decrease in shipments. The Company invests in advertising and promotional campaigns that it believes will be effective, but there is no guarantee that such investments will generate sales growth.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by $11.4 million, or 8.7%, to $142.2 million for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $130.8 million for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to higher salaries and benefits costs, resulting from Chief Executive Officer transition costs recorded in the first quarter and inflation costs.

Impairment of intangible assets. Impairment of intangible assets reflects a $42.6 million non-cash impairment charge recorded primarily for the Dogfish Head brand, taken as a result of the Company’s annual impairment analysis as of September 1, 2024. The impairment determination was primarily based on the latest forecasts of brand performance which has been below projections made on the acquisition date. In the third quarter of 2023, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $16.4 million for the Dogfish Head brand.

Impairment of brewery assets. Impairment of brewery assets of $3.8 million decreased by $0.2 million from the comparable period of 2023, due to lower write-offs of equipment at Company-owned breweries.

Income tax provision. The Company’s effective tax rate of 30.3% increased from 28.4% in the prior year. The increased effective tax rate is due to higher non-deductible compensation primarily related to Chief Executive Officer transition costs.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

The Company’s primary sources of liquidity are its existing cash balances, cash flows from operating activities and amounts available under its revolving credit facility. The Company’s material cash requirements include working capital needs, satisfaction of contractual commitments, stock repurchases, and investment in the Company’s business through capital expenditures.

Cash decreased to $255.6 million as of September 28, 2024 from $298.5 million as of December 30, 2023, primarily reflecting repurchases of the Company's Class A common stock, a note receivable issued, purchases of property, plant, and equipment, and payments of tax withholdings on stock-based payment awards and investment shares, partially offset by net cash provided by operating activities.

Cash provided by operating activities consists of net income, adjusted for certain non-cash items, such as depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, and other non-cash items included in operating results, and changes in operating assets and liabilities, such as accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, and accrued expenses.

Cash provided by operating activities for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024 was comprised of net income of $98.5 million and non-cash items of $118.4 million, partially offset by a net increase in operating assets and liabilities of $9.9 million. Cash provided by operating activities for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023 was comprised of net income of $94.4 million, non-cash items of $94.7 million, and a net decrease in operating assets and liabilities of $43.3 million. The decrease in cash provided by operating activities for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024 compared to September 30, 2023 is primarily due to lower inventory reduction compared to the prior year, partially offset by higher net income.

The Company used $72.7 million in investing activities during the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $47.1 million during the thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023. The increase in investing activity cash outflows is due to a $20.0 million note receivable issued. For both periods, capital investments were made mostly in the Company’s breweries to drive efficiencies and cost reductions and support product innovation and future growth.

Cash used in financing activities was $177.1 million during the thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2024, as compared to $55.1 million during the thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2023. The $122.0 million increase in financing activity cash outflows in 2024 compared to 2023 is primarily due to higher repurchases of the Company's Class A common stock in the current period.

During the period from December 31, 2023 through October 18, 2024, the Company repurchased and subsequently retired 647,728 shares of its Class A Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $190.9 million. On October 2, 2024, the Board of Directors authorized an increase in the share buyback expenditure limit set for the program from $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion. As of October 18, 2024, the Company had repurchased a cumulative total of approximately 14.7 million shares of its Class A Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.1 billion and had approximately $476 million remaining on the $1.6 billion stock repurchase expenditure limit set by the Board of Directors.

The Company expects that its cash balance as of September 28, 2024 of $255.6 million, along with its projected future operating cash flow and its unused line of credit balance of $150.0 million, will be sufficient to fund future cash requirements. The Company’s $150.0 million credit facility has a term not scheduled to expire until December 16, 2027. As of the date of this filing, the Company was not in violation of any of its covenants to the lender under the credit facility.

Critical Accounting Policies

Valuation of Goodwill and Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets

The Company has recorded intangible assets with indefinite lives and goodwill for which impairment testing is required at least annually or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate that these assets might be impaired. The Company performs its annual impairment tests and re-evaluates the useful lives of other intangible assets with indefinite lives at the annual impairment test measurement date in the third quarter of each fiscal year or when circumstances arise that indicate a possible impairment or change in useful life might exist.

Significant judgement is required to estimate the fair value of the Dogfish Head trademark. Accordingly, the Company obtains the assistance of third-party valuation specialists as part of the impairment evaluation. In estimating the fair value of the trademark, management must make assumptions and projections regarding future cash flows based upon future revenues, the market-based royalty rate, the discount rate, and the after-tax royalty savings expected from ownership of the trademark. The assumptions and projections used in the estimate of fair value are consistent with recent trends and represent the projections used in Company’s current strategic operating plans which include reductions in revenues from the Dogfish Head beer products. These assumptions reflect management’s estimates of future economic and competitive conditions and consider many factors including macroeconomic conditions, industry growth rates, and competitive activities and are, therefore, subject to change as a result of changing market conditions. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company will change the indefinite useful life of the Dogfish Head trademark asset and begin amortizing the remaining $14.4 million balance over an estimated useful life of 10 years.

The Company performed a sensitivity analysis on its significant assumptions used in the Dogfish Head trademark fair value calculation and determined the following:

A decrease in the annual forecasted revenue growth rate of 1.0% would result in a 4.9% decrease to the current fair value of $14.4 million.

A decrease in the discount rate of 1.5% would result in a 8.3% increase to the current fair value of $14.4 million and an increase in the discount rate of 1.5% would result in a 6.9% decrease to the current fair value of $14.4 million.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

In this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in other documents incorporated herein, as well as in oral statements made by the Company, statements that are prefaced with the words “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “continue,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “designed” and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements regarding events, conditions, and financial trends that may affect the Company’s future plans of operations, business strategy, results of operations and financial position. These statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and estimates as to prospective events and circumstances about which the Company can give no firm assurance. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual future financial condition or results. These forward-looking statements, like any forward-looking statements, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include the factors set forth below in addition to the other information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2023.

Since December 30, 2023, there have been no significant changes in the Company’s exposures to interest rate or foreign currency rate fluctuations. The Company currently does not enter into derivatives or other market risk sensitive instruments for the purpose of hedging or for trading purposes.

As of September 28, 2024, the Company conducted an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer (its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, respectively) regarding the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) were effective as of September 28, 2024 to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the requisite time periods and that such disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to its management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2024 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

In addition to the other information set forth in this report, careful consideration should be given to the factors discussed in Part I, "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2023, which could materially affect the Company’s business, financial condition or future results. The risks described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K are not the only risks facing the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to the Company or that it currently deems to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect its business, financial condition and/or operating results.