Marygold Companies, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Dec 31, 2023

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the unaudited financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto and is qualified in its entirety by the foregoing and by more detailed financial information appearing elsewhere in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. See “Item 1 - Financial Statements.”

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our results and the timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in Part II of this report and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2023.

Overview

The Marygold Companies, Inc. (“The Marygold Companies” or the “Company”) conducts business through its wholly owned subsidiaries operating in the US, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada. The operations of the subsidiaries are summarized as follows:

• USCF Investments, Inc. (“USCF Investments”), a U.S. based company, is the sole member of two investment services limited liability company subsidiaries that manages, operates or is an investment advisor to exchange traded funds organized as limited partnerships or investment trusts that issue shares that trade on the NYSE Arca stock exchange.
• Gourmet Foods, Ltd., a New Zealand based company, manufactures and distributes New Zealand meat pies on a commercial scale and its wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary company, Printstock Products Limited, prints specialty wrappers for the food industry in New Zealand and Australia (collectively “Gourmet Foods”).

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• Brigadier Security Systems (2000) Ltd. (“Brigadier”), a Canadian based company, sells and installs commercial and residential alarm monitoring systems.
• Kahnalytics, Inc. DBA Original Sprout (“Original Sprout”), a U.S. based company, is engaged in the wholesale distribution of hair and skin care products under the brand name Original Sprout on a global scale.
• Marygold & Co., a U.S. based company, together with its wholly owned limited liability company, Marygold & Co. Advisory Services, LLC, (collectively “Marygold”) was established to explore opportunities in the financial technology (“Fintech”) space, completed its development phase and launched its commercial services in June 2023. Through December 31, 2023, Marygold continued its launch efforts and commenced with new marketing campaigns.
• Marygold & Co. (UK) Limited, a UK limited company, together with its UK subsidiary, Tiger Financial and Asset Management, Ltd. (collectively “Marygold UK”) is an asset manager and registered investment advisor in the UK. The operations of Marygold UK began in June 2022.

Because the Company conducts its businesses through its wholly owned operating subsidiaries, the risks related to our wholly owned subsidiaries are also risks that impact the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. See, “Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies / Concentration of Credit Risk” in the notes to the financial statements for more information.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the Three Months Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Revenue

Consolidated revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2023 was $8.5 million representing a $0.3 million, or 4%, decrease from the three months ended December 31, 2022 revenue of $8.8 million. The decrease in consolidated revenue was primarily attributed to USCF Investments where Assets Under Management (“AUM”) for the three months ended December 31, 2023 was lower than 2022 which resulted in a revenue decrease of $0.3 million.

Operating (Loss) Income

The Company’s operating loss for the three months ended December 31, 2023 was ($1.0) million as compared to operating income of $0.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022. This represents a decrease in operating income of $1.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 compared to the prior year. Apart from the $0.3 million decline in revenues, the remaining $0.8 million difference in operating income (loss) is primarily attributed to an increase in marketing and development expenses incurred at Marygold & Co. and Original Sprout.

Other (Expense) Income, Net

For the three months ended December 31, 2023 we had an other (expense) income, net of ($0.4 million) compared to an other income, net of $0.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022 which was primarily attributable to unrealized losses on investments.

Income Tax

For the three months ended December 31, 2023 we had an income tax benefit of $0.2 million compared to an income tax provision of ($0.1) million for the comparable prior year period which was a function of reporting pre-tax income in the prior year period to reporting pre-tax losses in the current year period.

Net (Loss) Income

For the three months ended December 31, 2023, the Company generated a net loss of ($1.2 million) as compared to net income of $0.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022. The $1.4 million decrease in net income was primarily attributable to $0.9 million in lower profits at our fund management business and increased losses of $0.8 million in our financial services business as the Company continues to invest capital into our fintech subsidiary; partially offset by reductions in our corporate expenses of $0.3 million and improvement in profits of $0.2 million at our food products business.

Comparison of the Six Months Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Consolidated revenue for the six months ended December 31, 2023 was $16.7 million representing a $1.0 million or 6% decrease from the six months ended December 31, 2022 revenue of $17.7 million. The decrease in consolidated revenue was primarily attributed to lower revenues by $0.6 million from lower AUM at USCF Investments, lower revenue by $0.2 million from our food products segment as we were transitioning to a more favorable product mix and refocused production capacity to higher profit margin customers, and lower revenue by $0.2 million at security systems due to the timing of certain commercial contracts.

Operating (Loss) Income

The Company’s operating loss for the six months ended December 31, 2023 was ($2.0) million as compared to operating income of $0.9 million for the six months ended December 31, 2022. This represents a decrease in operating income of $2.9 million which was primarily attributed to a $1.7 million increase in losses from financial services as we ramped up the development of our Fintech app and reduced profits by $0.8 million from lower AUM at USCF Investments.

Other (Expense) Income, Net

For the six months ended December 31, 2023 we had an other (expense) income, net of ($0.1 million) compared to an other income, net of $0.1 million for the six months ended December 31, 2022 which was primarily attributable to unrealized losses on investments.

Income Taxes

For the six months ended December 31, 2023 we had an income tax benefit of $0.5 million compared to an income tax provision of ($0.3) million for the comparable period of the prior year which was a function of reporting pre-tax income in the prior year period to reporting pre-tax losses in the current year period.

Net (Loss) Income

For the six months ended December 31, 2023, the Company generated a net loss of ($1.7 million) as compared to net income of $0.7 million for the six months ended December 31, 2022. The $2.4 million decrease in net income was primarily attributable to lower profits at our fund management business and increased losses in our financial services business as the Company continues to invest capital into our fintech subsidiary.

Fund Management – USCF Investments (59% and 60% of consolidated revenues for the three and six months ended December 31, 2023, respectively)

USCF currently serves as the General Partner or the Sponsor to the following commodity pools, each of which is currently conducting a public offering of its shares pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended:

USCF Advisers, a registered investment adviser, serves as the investment adviser to the funds listed below within the USCF ETF Trust (the “ETF Trust”) and has overall responsibility for the general management and administration for the ETF Trust. Pursuant to the current Investment Advisory Agreements, USCF Advisers provides an investment program for each of series within the ETF Trust and manages the investment of the assets.

All commodity pools managed by USCF and each series of the ETF Trust managed by USCF Advisers are collectively referred to as the “Funds” hereafter.

USCF Investments’ revenue and expenses are primarily driven by the amount of AUM of the Funds. USCF Investments earns monthly management and advisory fees based on agreements with each Fund as determined by the contractual basis point management fee structure in each agreement multiplied by the average AUM over the given period. Many of the company’s expenses are dependent upon the amount of AUM. These variable expenses include Fund administration, custody, accounting, transfer agency, marketing and distribution, and sub-adviser fees and are primarily determined by multiplying contractual fee rates by AUM.

Comparison of the Three Months Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Revenue

Average AUM for the three months ended December 31, 2023 was $3.5 billion as compared to $3.8 billion from the three months ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to a decrease in USO, USCI and BNO AUM, partially offset by an increase in UNG AUM. As a result, the revenues from management and advisory fees decreased by $0.3 million, or 5%, to $5.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the three months ended December 31, 2022 where revenues from management and advisory fees totaled $5.3 million.

Operating Expenses

USCF Investments total operating expenses for three months ended December 31, 2023 remained consistent at $3.7 million compared to the prior year quarter. Total variable expenses, as described above, were comparable quarter over quarter, with offsetting changes including a decrease in sub-advisory fees of $0.1 million due to a decrease in USCI and CPER AUM offset by an increase of $0.1 million in fund accounting and administration expenses due to an increase in the number of funds under management. Operations expenses increased by $0.1 million compared to the prior year quarter due to an increase in license and professional fees for new funds.

Operating income and net income

Operating income decreased by $0.3 million to $1.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 from $1.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to lower revenue. Other income (expense) was ($0.4) million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 compared to $0.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022 resulting in a $0.6 million decrease due to unrealized losses ($0.5) million on equity investments in the current year quarter partially offset by $0.1 million in dividend and interest income. Pre-tax income for the three months ended December 31, 2023 decreased $0.9 million to $0.9 million compared to a $1.8 million for three months ended December 31, 2022 due to a $0.3 million decrease in revenue as a result of lower AUM and $0.6 million decrease in other income.

Comparison of the Six Months Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Revenue

Average AUM for the six months ended December 31, 2023 was $3.5 billion as compared to $3.8 billion from the six months ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to a decrease in USO and USCI AUM, partially offset by an increase in UNG AUM. As a result, the revenues from management and advisory fees decreased by $0.6 million, or 6%, to $10.1 million for the six months ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the six months ended December 31, 2022 where revenues from management and advisory fees totaled $10.7 million.

Expenses

USCF Investments total operating expenses for the six months ended December 31, 2023 decreased by $0.2 million to $7.0 million, or 3%, from $7.2 million for the six months ended December 31, 2022. Total variable expenses, as described above, decreased by $0.3 million due to a decrease in total AUM which included a $0.3 million decrease in variable marketing and distribution expenses, a decrease of $0.1 million in sub-advisory fees related to lower USCI and CPER AUM partially offset by a $0.1 million increase in fund accounting and administration expenses due to an increase in the number of funds under management. Employee compensation expenses were $2.5 million for the six months ended December 31, 2023 compared to $2.7 million for six months ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to lower bonus expenses. Operations expenses increased by $0.2 million due to an increase in license and professional fees for new funds.

Operating income and net income

Operating income decreased $0.5 million to $3.0 million for the six months ended December 31, 2023 from $3.5 million for the six months ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to lower revenue partially offset by lower operating expenses. Other income (expense) was ($0.2) million for the six months ended December 31, 2023 compared to $0.1 million for the six months ended December 31, 2022 resulting in a $0.3 million decrease due to unrealized losses of ($0.3) million and realized losses of ($0.2) million on equity investments in the current year six-month period partially offset by $0.2 million in dividend and interest income. Net income before income taxes for the six months ended December 31, 2023 decreased $0.7 million to $2.9 million compared to a $3.5 million for six months ended December 31, 2022 due to a $0.6 million decrease in revenue as a result of lower AUM, partially offset by a $0.2 million decrease in operating expenses and a $0.3 million decrease in other income.

Food Products (23% and 22% of consolidated revenue for the three and six months ended December 31, 2023, respectively)

Food products (Gourmet Foods and Printstock) revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was flat at $1.9 million; however gross margin improved by 5% and net income of $0.2 million improved by $0.2 million from the comparative prior year quarter. The improved profitability was primarily a result of a more favorable product mix and refocusing production capacity to higher profit margin customers.

For the six months ended December 31, 2023, food products revenues declined by $0.2 million; however net income was flat at $0.2 million primarily due to operating efficiencies achieved during the current six-month period as compared to the prior year six-month period.

Beauty Products (10% of consolidated revenues for both the three and six months ended December 31, 2023)

For the quarter ended December 31, 2023, beauty products (Original Sprout) revenue increased by less than $0.1 million and net loss increased by less than $0.1 million. The increase in net loss was primarily due to increased expenses associated with new product development and marketing. For the six months ended December 31, 2023, beauty products revenues increased by less than $0.1 million and net loss increased by $0.4 million. The increase in net loss was primarily due to increased expenses associated with new product development and marketing.

Security Systems (7% of consolidated revenue for both the three and six months ended December 31, 2023)

For the quarter ended December 31, 2023, security systems (Brigadier) revenue declined by less than $0.1 million and net profit was flat compared to the prior year quarter. For the six months ended December 31, 2023, security systems revenues declined by less than $0.2 million primarily due to market timing and weather patterns and net profit declined by less than $0.1 million compared to the prior year period.

Financial Services includes Marygold (UK) and Marygold

Financial Services – Marygold (UK)

Marygold UK operates through its wholly owned subsidiary Tiger Financial & Asset Management Limited (“Tiger”), which was acquired in June 2022. Tiger acts as an investment advisor and financial planner to its clients and has two principal revenue streams which comprise ongoing fees for providing investment advice, and commissions for the intermediation of insurance-based products. Tiger does not provide investment management services directly, rather the clients’ assets are referred to third party investment managers, primarily discretionary investment managers. Tiger receives fees for the ongoing advice and financial planning services which are charged as a percentage of the assets under management, which as of June 30, 2023 was $40 million and as of December 31, 2023 was $42 million. The ratio of fees earned from investment advice as compared to commissions earned is generally 80:20, but may fluctuate for any given period.

Comparison of the Three Months Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2023 were unchanged at $0.1 million as compared to the three months ended December 31, 2022. Operating expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2023 were $0.2 million as compared to $0.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022 with the increase attributed to the hiring of additional staff and increased professional fees in connection with the development of the Marygold mobile fintech app in the UK.

Comparison of the Six Months Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Revenues for the six months ended December 31, 2023 were unchanged at $0.3 million as compared to the six months ended December 31, 2022. Operating expenses for the six months ended December 31, 2023 were $0.4 million as compared to $0.2 million for the six months ended December 31, 2022 with the increase attributed to the hiring of additional staff and increased professional fees in connection with the development of the Marygold mobile fintech app in the UK.

Financial Services – Marygold (USA)

Marygold & Co. is a financial technology company, not a bank, providing an all-in-one banking and payment services app offering FDIC-insured accounts with a Debit Mastercard®. Like a private banker on your phone, Marygold has introduced a secure way to send, receive, spend, save and invest with no banking fees or minimum balance requirements and aims to redefine mobile banking and payments, all in one app. Marygold completed its development phase in June 2023 and continues to devote considerable resources to the development and launch of its proprietary Fintech app. Revenue is earned from the Mastercard® interchange system with debit card spend by users and from asset management fees earned on investments through the use of Money Pools, which are goal based savings and investment accounts.

Comparison of the Three Months Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Onboarding of new customers continued during the three months ended December 31, 2023 resulting in nominal revenue. Operating expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2023 increased $0.7 million to $1.4 million compared to $0.7 million in the prior year quarter. The increase was attributed to ongoing development of the app and continued ramping up for the product post launch. Increases from the prior year’s quarter included additional spend of $0.4 million in product development and app service provider infrastructure, as well as $0.1 million in advertising, marketing and employee compensation expenses.

Comparison of the Six Months Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Operating expenses for the six months ended December 31, 2023 increased $1.5 million to $2.9 million compared to $1.4 million in the prior year period. The increase was attributed to ongoing development of the app and continued ramping up for the product post launch. Increases from the prior year’s six-month period included additional spend in product development, advertising and marketing and employee compensation expenses.

Plan of Operation for the Next Twelve Months

Our plan of operation for the next twelve months is to achieve profitability in all of our established business units through improved operating efficiencies, new product development and enhanced marketing efforts. Our new Marygold Fintech app is expected to be the focus of our growth initiatives for the next twelve months. In order to grow the Fintech app, we expect to apply the necessary resources, which may include hiring additional experienced personnel, spending cash reserves, and/or acquiring synergistic businesses. In order to fund this initiative, the Company may utilize cash reserves or seek additional funds through equity offerings and/or debt instruments.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Marygold Companies is a holding company that conducts its operations through its subsidiaries. At the holding-company level, its liquidity needs relate to operational expense, the funding of additional business acquisitions and new investment opportunities. Our operating subsidiaries’ principal liquidity requirements arise from cash used in operating activities, debt service, and capital expenditures, including purchases of equipment and services, operating costs and expenses, and income taxes. Cash is managed at the holding company or the subsidiary level. There are no limitations or constraints on the movement of funds between the entities.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $6.2 million of cash and cash equivalents on a consolidated basis as compared to $8.2 million as of June 30, 2023, a decrease of $2.0 million or 24%. For the six months ended December 31, 2023, USCF Investments invested $3.0 million by seeding one new Fund and the Company made additional expenditures of $2.8 million in Marygold. The Company expects that Marygold will require additional expenditures over the coming 12 months. As the funding requirements become known, the Company will decide upon the source of the additional capital investment to be made as the need arises.

Based on our current operating plan, we believe existing cash resources will be sufficient to meet our working capital requirements for the next twelve months. If sufficient funds are not available to finance our business and operations, including our investment in Marygold, we may need to raise additional financing through one or more debt or an equity financing to meet our operating and cash needs. There can be no assurance we will be able to raise additional financing or upon terms that are acceptable to us.

Lease Liability

The Company has various operating leases for offices, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. The total amount due under these obligations was $1.4 million and $1.0 million as of December 31, 2023 and June 30, 2023, respectively. The obligations will reduce over the passage of time through periodic lease payments. See Note 11 for further analysis of this obligation.

Borrowings

As of December 31, 2023, we had $0.4 million of third-party indebtedness as compared to $0.3 million of third-party and related-party indebtedness as of June 30, 2023. Brigadier owes $0.4 million under a loan that is secured with the land and building in Canada. The initial principal balance was $0.6 million as of the loan date in July 2019 with an annual interest rate of 4.14% maturing June 30, 2024. Interest on the loan is expensed or accrued as it becomes due.

In addition, Gourmet Foods has a finance lease liability of $0.2 million related to a solar energy system as December 31, 2023 and June 30, 2023, respectively, and are included under loans - property and equipment on our consolidated balance sheets.

Investments

USCF Investments, from time to time, provides initial investments in the creation of ETP funds that USCF Investments manages. USCF Investments classifies these investments as current assets as these investments are generally sold within one year from the balance sheet date. As of December 31, 2023, USCF Investments held investment positions in four of its 40 Act funds, GLDX, ZSB, USE and ZSC of $1.3 million, $0.5 million, $2.7 million, and $2.6 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2023 USCF held positions in GLDX, ZSB, and USE of $1.3 million, $1.9 million, and $2.6 million, respectively. These investment positions along with other investments, as applicable, are described further in Note 7 to our Financial Statements.

Dividends

We have historically not paid any dividends on our shares of common stock and we have no current plans to pay dividends.

(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The Marygold Companies maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to provide reasonable assurances that the information required to be disclosed in The Marygold Companies’ periodic reports filed or submitted under Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the issuer’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that there are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures and any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives.

The duly appointed officers of The Marygold Companies, including its chief executive officer and chief accounting officer, who perform functions equivalent to those of a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of The Marygold Companies, have evaluated the effectiveness of The Marygold Companies’ disclosure controls and procedures and have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures of The Marygold Companies were effective as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

(b) Change in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no significant changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the quarterly period covered by this report that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal controls over financial reporting.

The Marygold Companies and its subsidiaries (referred to herein as “we,” “us,” “our” or similar expressions) are subject to certain risks and uncertainties in its business operations. In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2023 (“2023 Form 10-K”), which could materially affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. The risks described in our 2023 Form 10-K are not the only risks facing our Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results.

There have been no material changes to the risk factors discussed in “Risk Factors” in our 2023 Form 10-K. These risk factors should be read in connection with the other information included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and our financial statements and the related notes.