Rocky Mountain Q1 Earnings and Revenues Decline Y/Y

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. RMCF delivered a loss per share of 26 cents in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, wider than the year-ago quarter's loss of 13 cents per share.

Revenues in Detail

Rocky Mountain registered revenues of $6.4 million in the fiscal first quarter, down 0.5% year over year.

Lower revenues from royalty and marketing fees dampened the topline.

Segment Details

Rocky Mountain derives revenues from three sources — Durango product and retail sales, Franchise fees and Royalty and marketing fees.

For the quarter under review, Durango product and retail sales reported revenues of $5.3 million, up 5.2% from the year-ago quarter. This primarily resulted from improved year-over-year franchisee demand and improved inventory management.

The revenues from the Franchise fees totaled $0.1 million, up 55.6 % year over year. The uptick was primarily the result of store ownership transfer fees received.

The Royalty and marketing fees generated revenues of $1.1 million, down 23.1% from the year-ago quarter. This was primarily due to a decrease in stores year over year that are subject to royalty fees.

Rocky Mountain Gross Margin

In the quarter under review, Rocky Mountain's gross margin decreased to (5.8)% from a gross margin of 5.1% in the year-ago quarter. This primarily resulted from increased raw material and labor costs.

Operating Expenses Analysis

Sales and marketing expenses decreased 9.1% year over year to $0.4 million, primarily due to operational efficiencies and cost-cutting measures.

General and administrative expenses decreased 35.9% year over year to $1.2 million due to a decrease in legal fees that were incurred in the prior year related to contested solicitation of proxies.

Profitability

Loss from operations totaled $1.6 million, wider than the year-ago quarter's loss of $1.5 million.

In the fiscal first quarter, Rocky Mountain's net loss was $1.7 million, wider than the year-ago quarter's net loss of $0.8 million.

Liquidity & Debt Management

Rocky Mountain exited first-quarter fiscal 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $0.6 million compared with $2.1 million at the fiscal 2024-end.

Net cash used in operating activities of continuing operations at the end of first-quarter fiscal 2025 was $2.2 million compared with $0.4 million a year ago.

Our Take

Rocky Mountain exited the first quarter of fiscal 2025 with dismal top-line and bottom-line results. Lower revenues from Royalty and marketing fees were also discouraging. During the reported quarter, the gross margin contracted, which did not bode well. The company incurred a net loss in the quarter, which is also discouraging.

On a positive note, robust revenues from Durango product and retail sales and Franchise fees were impressive.

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