Westrock Coffee Company, LLC (NASDAQ:WEST) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Todd Brooks: Okay. Thanks, Scott. And then, Chris, one follow-up for you. And maybe not quantifying the exact gross margin percentages in a product segment. But if you look at a May delivery of that key piece of equipment in the single-serve side. If you are looking at maybe first half versus second half 2023 gross margins for single-serve, just what type of basis point, like, would you expect to see between the two halves once you fully equipped to really ramp into this new business that you brought on? Thanks.

Chris Pledger: It should be — I mean it should be somewhat significant. I think the key — what happens when you have the necessary equipment to meet the volume that you are trying to produce in the group that you have, you are able to really look at your production from a portfolio basis. And so, not only having the machines, but having machines allows you to be able to do the preventative maintenance that allows you to be able to pick and choose what you are going to turn on win in order to be able to maximize the throughput that you need. And so it’s not just about volume, it’s also about being able to produce more efficiently and with less waste. And so we are excited about a couple of machines that Scott mentioned that, they came in, in the first quarter.

We have got the other machinery coming in, in the second quarter and what that really does, it allows us — it gives us the flexibility and the comfort to be able to execute on the single-serve cup volumes in a more stable manner and when you do that there are benefits throughout the entire platform to being able to do that.

Todd Brooks: So if I was kind of drawing a glide path for, we would see meaningful improvement in the second half, but probably annualized that segment of

Chris Pledger: Of course.

Todd Brooks: product solutions getting to where you want in 2024?

Chris Pledger: Correct. I think it will be little — small improvement in the first half. I think you will see a bigger improvement in the second half.

Todd Brooks: Perfect. Thank you both.

Operator: Thank you. I am showing no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back over to Scott Ford, CEO, for any closing remarks.

Scott Ford: Well, thank you all for joining us. It has been a Coffee in 2022 and we really are focused right now on making sure that the issues that we are dealing with from getting new equipment in the single-serve and getting back to full scale is effectively and timely deliver. We are also working through a series of system conversions that we went through at the beginning of the year in North Carolina in the traditional S&D business. We are basically caught up with all of those issues coming out the other side of the system conversion. We have new extract facilities that are turning on in the first half of the year this year in North Carolina. That is kind of the bridge that creates the fiscal year 2023 outlook and then we have Conway on-time to start up in the first quarter of 2024 and we are simply focused on trying to put several years together in a row of growth rates like the one that you have just experienced here.

This one was a little harder to make than we would have thought. I am sure there will be new things in 2023. But the team has really started to gel. We are only doing some smaller acquisitions. We are not — we have had people do this financing, do this big deal, do this big deal and we are like, look, we are focusing, we are simplifying and we are executing and that is what 2022. And I will pause and give Jeff Fox $0.05 for creating that for, because I did steal it, but it is — that is really the sum total what we are working on in 2023. Thank you for being with us today and hope you have a great evening. Thanks.

Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today’s conference. You may all disconnect. Have a great day.

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