Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Page 4 of 12

Todd Cunfer: Yes. So no issue on the covenants in Q4. So we were fine. We’ll watch it closely in the first two quarters of the year. As you pointed out, we’re going to have limited EBITDA for the first half of the year. I am hoping by the time we have our next conference call, we’ll have a little bit more clarity on where we are from a credit agreement perspective. We’re working very hard on that right now. As I’ve said a couple of times, I don’t – I am not going to be issuing straight equity here in ’23. Could I do it in ’24, ’25? Yes, maybe if the market conditions are out there, and it seems like a wise thing to do, I would never take that off the table. But I’m confident we will get something done here by mid-year. And next time we’re on the call, hopefully, that will be resolved.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Rupesh Parikh with Oppenheimer. Please proceed with your question.

Rupesh Parikh: Good morning. And thanks for taking my question. So I also had a question on advertising. Just given a number of your competitors have stepped up advertising, I think there’s also Super Bowl ad out there. I was just curious how you guys think about all that accelerated advertising, how that’s impacting Freshpet?

Billy Cyr: Yes, there is definitely a lot of chatter in the market. And typically, it’s interesting, we typically don’t see quite as much in Q1, I think, historically, it feels like there is a lot going on this time of year. What we do know is we have extraordinary advertising that has year after year after year, been able to produce the results that we need. I do think that there’s a lot of – even if you look at some of the advertising out there, including the Super Bowl ad, I think it creates incredible awareness around the Freshpet food category. I think that’s really, really good for us. I think that as – if you’re – one of the challenges we continue to have today and will for the foreseeable future is people may know about it, but they don’t know why it’s interest– pet food is interesting.

I think having the leadership position we have across the products that we have, the brands we have, the distribution that we have and I would say the portfolio of products, the wide portfolio of products and price points that we have, I think we’re really, really well positioned to be a very, very clear leader for the very, very long term. So as there’s more advertising in the category, I think it brings awareness, I think it brings visibility, I think it can be helpful for us, and we do know that our advertising delivers very, very well.

Rupesh Parikh: Great. And then maybe one follow-up question for Todd. Just on working capital. Just curious if you guys are now past the ERP issues and then if you see any working capital opportunities this year?

Todd Cunfer: Yes. So we – I would say we did not end the year in a perfect spot but a much better place than we were at the end of Q3. So I mean a lot of improvement. I think we will continue to improve a bit in ’24 and that working capital as a percent of net sales will come down a bit. So we’re definitely behind the worst and in a decent spot and still a little bit of an improvement to come this year.

Rupesh Parikh: Great. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Corey Grady with Jefferies. Please proceed with your question.

Corey Grady: Hi. Thanks for taking my question. First, I wanted to ask about pricing. Just on your outlook for 8.5% for the year. Does that include any like of the typical mix of in the portfolio that you guys see every year? Or in a recessionary environment, would you expect that dynamic to pause?

Page 4 of 12