HANOVER, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2025-- Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE: UTZ) (“Utz” or the “Company”), a leading U.S. manufacturer of branded Salty Snacks and a small-cap value Staples equity, today reported financial results for the Company’s first fiscal quarter ended March 30, 2025.

1Q’25 Summary⁽¹⁾

• Net Sales increased 1.6% to $352.1 million
• Total Organic Net Sales increased 2.9%; Branded Salty Snacks increased 4.9%
• Gross Profit Margin decline of 90bps
• Adjusted Gross Profit Margin expansion of 100bps
• Net Income increased 137.5% to $5.7 million
• Adjusted Net Income increased 7.2% to $22.3 million
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 3.9% to $45.1 million
• Diluted Earnings Per Share of $0.09
• Adjusted Earnings Per Share increased 14.3% to $0.16

“I’m pleased with our strong start to the year, as we delivered nearly 3% Organic Net Sales growth⁽¹⁾, and gained dollar and pound share of the Salty Snacks category in the first quarter⁽²⁾. Our use of bonus packs and focused trade promotions have been effective in addressing consumer value needs. We’ve now shown our ability to grow despite category softness, due to our unique geographic expansion opportunity. In addition, we delivered our ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA Margin expansion, and we drove Adjusted Earnings Per Share growth of over 14%,” said Howard Friedman, Chief Executive Officer of Utz.

Mr. Friedman continued, “Looking ahead to the remainder of 2025, we expect that our strong productivity cost savings will continue to give us the flexibility to build our brands and expand our margins. Based on what we know today, given that nearly all our input costs are sourced domestically and our manufacturing facilities are all in the United States, we expect that recent tariff volatility will have a modest impact on our business in 2025. As such,we remain confident in reaffirming our full-year guidance for both the top and bottom line.”

First Quarter 2025 Results

First quarter Net Sales were $352.1 million compared to $346.5 million in the prior year period⁽³⁾. Organic Net Sales increased 2.9% year-over-year, driven by a favorable volume/mix contribution of 6.3%, partially offset by lower net price realization of (3.4)%, of which (2.8) percentage points were attributable to the impact of bonus packs. Branded Salty Snacks Organic Net Sales⁽⁴⁾ (representing 87% of total Net Sales) increased 4.9% led by our Power Four Brands, offset by an 8.8% decline in Non-Branded & Non-Salty SnacksOrganic Net Sales⁽⁴⁾, primarily due to Partner Brands and Dips & Salsas.

For the 13-week period ended March 30, 2025, the Company’s Branded Salty Snacks Retail Sales were flat to the prior year period compared to a 1.7% decline for the Salty Snack category overall. The Company’s Power Four Brands of Utz®, On The Border®, Zapp’s® and Boulder Canyon® Retail Sales increased by 1.7%. The Company’s Retail Volumes increased by 5.7% compared to a 1.6% decline for the Salty Snack category, and the Company drove volume share gains in both its Core and Expansion geographies.⁽²⁾

Gross Profit Margin of 33.6% declined 90bps compared to 34.5% in the prior year period. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin of 38.2% expanded 100bps compared to 37.2% in the prior year period. The increase was driven by productivity savings, which more than offset increased investments to support capacity expansion and growth.

Selling, Distribution, and Administrative Expenses (“SD&A Expenses”) were $113.2 million, or 32.1% of Net Sales, compared to $109.4 million, or 31.6% of Net Sales, in the prior year period. Adjusted SD&A Expenses were $89.4 million, or 25.4% of Net Sales, compared to $85.4 million, or 24.6% of Net Sales, in the prior year period. The increase as a percentage of Net Sales was primarily due to higher people, selling, and delivery costs to support our growth.

The Company reported Net Income of $5.7 million compared to Net Income of $2.4 million in the prior year period. The change in Net Income was primarily due to an increase in the gain on the remeasurement of the warrant liability of $22.8 million. Adjusted Net Income in the quarter increased 7.2% to $22.3 million compared to $20.8 million in the prior year period. Adjusted Earnings Per Share increased 14.3% to $0.16 compared to $0.14 in the prior year period. The Adjusted Earnings Per Share growth in the first quarter was the result of operating earnings growth, and lower interest expense as a result of the refinancing of the Company’s long-term debt in January.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 3.9% to $45.1 million, or 12.8% as a percentage of Net Sales, compared to $43.4 million, or 12.5% as a percentage of Net Sales, in the prior year period. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by Adjusted Gross Profit Margin expansion.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

• As of March 30, 2025
  • Total liquidity of $172.2 million, consisting of cash on hand of $62.7 million and $109.5 million available under the Company’s revolving credit facility.
  • Net debt of $800.9 million resulting in a Net Leverage Ratio of 4.0x based on trailing twelve months Normalized Adjusted EBITDA of $201.9 million.
• For the thirteen weeks ended March 30, 2025
  • Cash flow used in operations was $20.2 million, which reflects the seasonal use of working capital.
  • Capital expenditures were $38.8 million, and dividends and distributions paid were $8.9 million.

Fiscal Year 2025 Outlook

Consistent with the 2025 fiscal year outlook provided with the fourth quarter and full year 2024 results announced on February 20, 2025, and as reaffirmed in the April 17, 2025 press release, the Company continues to expect:

• Organic Net Sales growth of low-single digits led by continued Branded Salty Snacks growth, particularly the Power Four Brands, and less decline in Non-Branded & Non-Salty Snacks;

• Adjusted EBITDA growth of 6% to 10% and Adjusted EBITDA Margin expansion of approximately 100bps, led by Adjusted Gross Profit Margin expansion fueled by strong productivity cost savings and improved product mix; and

• Adjusted Earnings Per Share growth of 10% to 15% led by increased operating earnings and lower interest expense.

The Company also continues to expect:

• An effective tax rate (normalized GAAP basis tax expense, which excludes one-time items) in the range of 17% to 19%;
• Interest Expense of approximately $43 million;
• Capital Expenditures in the range of $90 to $100 million, with the majority focused on building increased supply chain network capabilities and delivering accelerated productivity savings; and
• Net Leverage Ratio approaching 3x at year-end fiscal 2025.

Quantitative reconciliations are not available for the forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures used herein without unreasonable efforts due to the high variability, complexity, and low visibility with respect to certain items which are excluded from Organic Net Sales, Adjusted EBITDA, Net Leverage Ratio, normalized GAAP basis tax expense, excluding one-time items, and Adjusted Earnings Per Share, respectively. We expect the variability of these items to have a potentially unpredictable, and potentially significant, impact on our future financial results.

Conference Call and Webcast Presentation

The Company has also posted a pre-recorded management discussion of its first quarter results to its website at https://investors.utzsnacks.com. In addition, the Company will host a live question and answer session with analysts at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time today. Please visit the “Events & Presentations” section of Utz’s Investor Relations website at https://investors.utzsnacks.com to access the live listen-only webcast. Participants can also dial in over the phone by calling 1-888-596-4144. The Event Plus passcode is 3860587. The Company has also posted presentation slides and additional supplemental financial information, which are available now on Utz’s Investor Relations website.

About Utz Brands, Inc.

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE: UTZ) manufactures a diverse portfolio of savory snacks through popular brands, including Utz®, On The Border® Chips & Dips, Zapp’s®, and Boulder Canyon®, among others.

After over a century with a strong family heritage, Utz continues to have a passion for exciting and delighting consumers with delicious snack foods made from top-quality ingredients. Utz's products are distributed nationally through grocery, mass merchandisers, club, convenience, drug, and other channels. Based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Utz has multiple manufacturing facilities located across the U.S. to serve our growing customer base. For more information, please visit the Company’s website or call 1‐800‐FOR‐SNAX.

Investors and others should note that Utz announces material financial information to its investors using its Investor Relations website, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) filings, press releases, public conference calls, and webcasts. Utz uses these channels, as well as social media, to communicate with our stockholders and the public about the Company, the Company’s products, and other Company information. It is possible that the information that Utz posts on social media could be deemed to be material information. Therefore, Utz encourages investors, the media, and others interested in the Company to review the information posted on the social media channels listed on Utz’s Investor Relations website.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain statements made herein that are not historical facts but are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. The forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by or include, without limitation, statements such as “will”, “expect”, “intends”, “goal”, “on track” or other similar words, phrases or expressions. These forward-looking statements include future plans for the Company, including outlook for fiscal 2025, plans related to the transformation of the Company’s supply chain, the Company’s product mix, the Company’s ability to reduce debt, and the anticipated interest expense savings from the repricing of the $630 million Term Loan; the estimated or anticipated future results and benefits of the Company’s future plans and operations; the Company’s cost savings plans and the Company’s logistics optimization efforts; the estimated or anticipated future results and benefits of the Company’s plans and operations; the effects of inflation or supply chain disruptions on the Company or its business; the benefits of the Company’s productivity initiatives; the effects of the Company’s marketing and innovation initiatives; the Company’s future capital structure; future opportunities for the Company’s growth; statements regarding the Company’s projected balance sheet and liabilities, including net leverage; and other statements that are not historical facts.

These statements are based on the current expectations of the Company’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and the Company’s business and actual results may differ materially. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include, without limitation: our operation in an industry with high levels of competition and consolidation; our reliance on key customers and ability to obtain favorable contractual terms and protections with customers; changes in demand for our products driven by changes in consumer preferences and tastes or our ability to innovate or market our products effectively; changes in consumers’ loyalty to our brands due to factors beyond our control; impacts on our reputation caused by concerns relating to the quality and safety of our products, ingredients, packaging, or processing techniques; the potential that our products might need to be recalled if they become adulterated or are mislabeled; the loss of retail shelf space and disruption to sales of food products due to changes in retail distribution arrangements; our reliance on third parties to effectively operate both our direct-to-warehouse delivery system and our direct-store-delivery network system; the evolution of e-commerce retailers and sales channels; disruption to our manufacturing operations, supply chain, or distribution channels; the effects of inflation, including rising labor costs; shortages of raw materials, energy, water, and other supplies; changes in the legal and regulatory environments in which we operate; potential liabilities and costs from litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries, or investigations into our business; potential adverse effects or unintended consequences related to the implementation of our growth strategy; our ability to successfully identify and execute acquisitions or dispositions and to manage integration or carve out issues following such transactions; the geographic concentration of our markets; our ability to attract and retain highly skilled personnel (including risks associated with our recently announced executive leadership transition); impairment in the carrying value of goodwill or other intangible assets; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights; disruptions, failures, or security breaches of our information technology infrastructure; climate change or legal, regulatory or market measures to address climate change; our exposure to liabilities, claims or new laws or regulations with respect to environmental matters; the increasing focus and opposing views, legislation and expectations with respect to ESG initiatives; restrictions on our operations imposed by covenants in our debt instruments; our exposure to changes in interest rates; adverse impacts from disruptions in the worldwide financial markets, including on our ability to obtain new credit; our exposure to any new or increased income or product taxes; pandemics, epidemics or other disease outbreaks; our exposure to changes to trade policies and tariff and import/export regulations by the United States and other jurisdictions; potential volatility in our Class A Common Stock caused by resales thereof; our dependence on distributions made by our subsidiaries; our payment obligations pursuant to a tax receivable agreement, which in certain cases may exceed the tax benefits we realize or be accelerated; provisions of Delaware law and our governing documents and other agreements that could limit the ability of stockholders to take certain actions or delay or discourage takeover attempts that stockholders may consider favorable; our exclusive forum provisions in our governing documents; the influence of certain significant stockholders and members of Utz Brands Holdings, LLC, whose interests may differ from those of our other stockholders; and the effects of our private placement warrants on the market price of our Class A Common Stock and our net income; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Commission for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2024 and in other reports we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as otherwise required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

Utz uses non-GAAP financial information and believes it is useful to investors as it provides additional information to facilitate comparisons of historical operating results and identify trends in our underlying operating results, and it provides additional insight and transparency on how we evaluate the business. We use non-GAAP financial measures to budget, make operating and strategic decisions, and evaluate our performance. These non-GAAP financial measures do not represent financial performance in accordance with generally accepted accounted principles in the United States (“GAAP”) and may exclude items that are significant to understanding and assessing financial results. Therefore, these measures should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income, cash flows from operations, earnings per share or other measures of profitability, liquidity, or performance under GAAP. You should be aware that the presentation of these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Management believes that non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as supplements to the GAAP measures reported, should not be considered replacements for, or superior to, the GAAP measures, and may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies. The Company’s calculation of the non-GAAP financial measures may differ from methods used by other companies. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors regarding certain financial and business trends relating to the financial condition and results of operations of the Company to date when considered with both the GAAP results and the reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures, and that the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures is useful to investors in the evaluation of our operating performance compared to other companies in the Salty Snack industry, as similar measures are commonly used by the companies in this industry. These non-GAAP financial measures are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of management judgment about which items of expense and income are excluded or included in determining these non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures are not recognized in accordance with GAAP and should not be viewed as an alternative to GAAP measures. As new events or circumstances arise, these definitions could change. When the definitions change, we will provide the updated definitions and present the related non-GAAP historical results on a comparable basis.

Utz uses the following non-GAAP financial measures in its financial communications, and in the future could use others:

• Organic Net Sales
• Adjusted Gross Profit
• Adjusted Gross Profit as % of Net Sales (Adjusted Gross Profit Margin)
• Adjusted Selling, Distribution, and Administrative Expense
• Adjusted Selling, Distribution, and Administrative Expense as % of Net Sales (Adjusted Selling, Distribution, and Administrative Expense Margin)
• Adjusted Net Income
• Adjusted Earnings Per Share
• Adjusted Earnings Before Taxes
• EBITDA
• Adjusted EBITDA
• Adjusted EBITDA as % of Net Sales (Adjusted EBITDA Margin)
• Normalized Adjusted EBITDA
• Effective Normalized Tax Rate
• Net Leverage Ratio

Organic Net Sales is defined as Net Sales excluding the impacts of acquisitions, divestitures and independent operator (“IO”) route conversions that took place after 1Q’2024.

Adjusted Gross Profit represents Gross Profit excluding Depreciation and Amortization expense, a non-cash item. In addition, Adjusted Gross Profit excludes the impact of costs that fall within the categories of non-cash adjustments and/or other cash adjustment items such as those related to stock-based compensation, hedging and purchase commitments adjustments, asset impairments, acquisition and integration costs, business transformation initiatives, and financing-related costs. Adjusted Gross Profit is one of the key performance indicators that our management uses to evaluate operating performance. We also report Adjusted Gross Profit as a percentage of Net Sales as an additional measure for investors to evaluate our Adjusted Gross Profit Margin.

Adjusted Selling, Distribution, and Administrative Expense is defined as all Selling, Distribution, and Administrative expense excluding Depreciation and Amortization expense, a non-cash item. In addition, Adjusted Selling, Distribution, and Administrative Expense excludes the impact of costs that fall within the categories of non-cash adjustments and/or other cash adjustment items such as those related to stock-based compensation, hedging and purchase commitments adjustments, asset impairments, acquisition and integration costs, business transformation initiatives, and financing-related costs. We also report Adjusted Selling, Distribution, and Administrative Expense as a percentage of Net Sales as an additional measure for investors to evaluate our Adjusted Selling, Distribution, and Administrative Margin.

Adjusted Net Income is defined as Net Income excluding Depreciation and Amortization expense, a non-cash item, related to fair value adjustments on property, plant, and equipment, and definite-lived intangibles relating to business combinations recorded in prior periods. In addition, Adjusted Net Income excludes deferred financing fees, interest income, and expense relating to IO loans and certain non-cash adjustments and/or other cash adjustment items such as those related to stock-based compensation, hedging, and purchase commitments adjustments, asset impairments, acquisition and integration costs, business transformation initiatives, remeasurement of warrant liabilities and financing-related costs. Lastly, Adjusted Net Income normalizes the income tax provision to account for the above-mentioned adjustments.

Adjusted Earnings Before Taxes is defined as Adjusted Net Income before normalized GAAP basis tax expense.

Adjusted Earnings Per Share is defined as Adjusted Net Income divided by the weighted average shares outstanding for each period on a fully diluted basis, assuming the private placement warrants are net settled and the shares of Class V Common Stock of the Company are converted to Class A Common Stock.

EBITDA is defined as Net Income Before Interest, Income Taxes, and Depreciation and Amortization.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted to exclude certain non-cash adjustments and/or other cash adjustment items, such as stock-based compensation, hedging and purchase commitments adjustments, asset impairments, acquisition and integration costs, business transformation initiatives, and financing-related costs. Adjusted EBITDA is one of the key performance indicators we use in evaluating our operating performance and in making financial, operating, and planning decisions. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is useful to the users of this release because the financial information contained in the release can be used in the evaluation of Utz’s operating performance compared to other companies in the Salty Snack industry, as similar measures are commonly used by companies in this industry. In this release, we also provide Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Net Sales as an additional measure for readers to evaluate our Adjusted EBITDA Margin.

Normalized Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted EBITDA after giving effect to pre-acquisition Adjusted EBITDA for certain acquisitions and dispositions from time to time.

Effective Normalized Tax Rate is defined as normalized GAAP basis tax expense, which excludes one-time items, divided by Adjusted Earnings before Taxes.

Net Leverage Ratio is defined as trailing twelve month Normalized Adjusted EBITDA divided by Net Debt. Net Debt is defined as Gross Debt less Cash and Cash Equivalents.

Other Defined Terms:

Branded Salty Snacks is defined as Power Four Brands and Other Brands. Power Four Brands consist of the Utz® brand, On The Border®, Zapp’s®, and Boulder Canyon®. Other Brands include Golden Flake®, TORTIYAHS!®, Hawaiian®, Bachman®, Tim’s Cascade®, Dirty Potato Chips®, TGI Fridays® and Vitner's®.

Non-Branded & Non-Salty Snacks is defined as partner brands, private label, co-manufacturing for which we are the manufacturer, Utz branded non-salty snacks such as On The Border® Dips and Salsa, and sales not attributable to specific brands.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to Reported Financial Measures
(Amounts may not sum due to rounding)

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Investor Contact
Kevin Powers
Utz Brands, Inc.
kpowers@utzsnacks.com

Media Contact
Kevin Brick
Utz Brands, Inc.
kbrick@utzsnacks.com

Source: Utz Brands, Inc.