Approximately one half of the increase was driven by the increase in of HealthBeacon’s SG&A expenses, along with associated M&A expenses. The other half of the increase was primarily due to higher employee-related expenses, including non-cash stock incentive compensation due to stock price appreciation. Operating loss was $0.9 million compared to an operating loss of $5.1 million a year ago. Included in the current quarter operating loss was HealthBeacon’s operating loss of $1.1 million, HealthBeacon transaction costs of $1.0 million and the noncash lease impairment of $0.7 million. Net interest expense decreased by $1.1 million compared to a year ago. First quarter 2024 interest expense was $200,000 versus $1.3 million. This decrease primarily reflects lower average borrowings outstanding under our revolving credit facility.
Income tax benefit was $100,000 compared to a benefit of $1.6 million a year ago, to commensurate with the change in operating loss. Net loss was $1.2 million or $0.08 per diluted share, a significant improvement compared to a net loss of $4.8 million or $0.34 per diluted share a year ago. Now, turning to our balance sheet and cash flows. In 2023, we delivered significant improvement in our net working capital and cash flow and ended the year with the highest level of cash from operating activities in our company’s history. This achievement was due to our focus on net working capital improvement as we work through the remnants of the 2022 global supply chain challenges. We have now returned to more normalized position for working capital and cash flow generation.
Net cash provided by operating activities in the first quarter of 2024 was $19.7 million compared to $34.9 million provided for the same period last year. The decrease was primarily due to the timing of incentive compensation payments during the first quarter of 2024 that were paid in the second quarter of 2023. In addition, net working capital provided cash of $33.5 million compared to cash provided of $39.9 million in the last year’s first quarter. With respect to investing activities, capital expenditures were $900,000 compared to $500,000 a year ago. We invested $7.5 million in the acquisition of HealthBeacon using cash on hand. This amount was partially offset by the repayment of a secured loan we provided to HealthBeacon during their examinership process, decreasing our net investment to $5.8 million.
We allocated our strong cash flow primarily to reduce net debt and return value to shareholders through the quarterly dividend which paid a total of $1.5 million. On March 31, 2024, net debt or debt minus cash and cash equivalents was $23.7 million compared to $77.1 million on March 31, 2023. In November 2023, our Board approved a stock repurchase program for the purchase of up to $25 million of the company’s Class A common stock outstanding as of January 1, 2024 and ending on December 31, 2025. There were no share repurchases during the 3 months ended March 31, 2024, leaving the full $25 million authorized for repurchase. Now turning to our outlook. We are affirming our expectations for the full year 2024. The retail marketplace for small kitchen appliances is expected to be modestly below 2023 and still higher than pre-pandemic sales levels.
We believe that progress with our strategic initiatives will enable us to deliver above-market revenue performance just as we did last year. For the full year 2024, we expect our total revenue to increase modestly compared to full year 2023. As Greg said, we believe there could be an upside to our revenue results depending on consumer spending and retail sales remaining as strong as they have been so far this year. Operating profit for the full year 2024 is expected to increase moderately compared to 2023 based on the expansion of gross profit margin. Our outlook includes our previously reported expectation that Hamilton Beach Health will have a modest operating loss in 2024. That concludes our prepared remarks. We will now turn the line back to the operator for Q&A.
Operator:
Gregory Trepp: Thank you. Today, we welcome Scott’s participation on our call as our new company President. We are excited about the many opportunities we believe we have to increase revenue, expand margins and deliver strong cash flow over the long term. We have 2024 off to a good start. We will continue to build on that momentum as we carry into this year and see upside potential to our current outlook. That concludes our report for today. Thank you again for joining our call.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today’s call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.
