Shares of Blue Apron Holdings Inc. tumbled Thursday, after the meal-kit company reported a wider loss and revenue that fell, while spending on marketing soared and is expected to increase even more this year.
The stock
APRN,
sank 20.4% in afternoon trading, enough to make it the biggest decliner listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock was on track for the biggest one-day percentage decline since it dropped 21.5% on June 16, 2021.
The company reported before the opening bell a net loss that widened to $26.4 million, or 93 cents a share, from $11.9 million, or 67 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue fell 7.3% to $107.0 million, and was up 13% from the pre-pandemic fourth-quarter of 2019.
The one analyst that provided estimates to FactSet had projected a per-share loss of 75 cents and revenue of $110.0 million.
““While profitability remains a goal over the longer-term, we are focused on taking advantage of an important opportunity to accelerate customer and top-line growth.””
Orders declined 4.7% to 1.68 million and customers were down 4.0% to 336,000, but average order value increased 2.4% to $63.78 and average revenue per customer grew 1.9% to $319.
Meanwhile, total operating expenses increased 6.0% to $132.48 million, as cost of goods sold slipped 1.0% to $69.19 million but marketing expenses jumped 68.1% to $20.98 million.
“This past quarter, we significantly ramped up our marketing spend, focusing on targeted investments that are helping to raise brand awareness,” said Chief Executive Linda Findley, in prepared remarks for a conference call with analysts.
The company also said higher logistics costs had a more significant impact on results that anticipated.
For 2022, the company said it expects marketing spending to continue to increase through the year, to support expectations for faster revenue growth. Total marketing spend for the year is expected to be “around double” what was spent in 2019, which was $48.13 million. That implies 2022 marketing spend of roughly $96.3 million, which compares with $49.93 million spent in 2021.
Basically, unless 2022 revenue grows by more than 93% from 2021, margins will remain pressured. However, the company said it expects 2022 revenue growth to be “at least” in the mid-teens percentage range.
CEO Findley said after completing the $78 million capital raise in November, she believes the company has the “financial foundation” to be more aggressive with its marketing push.
“While profitability remains a goal over the longer term, we are focused on taking advantage of an important opportunity to accelerate customer and [revenue] growth,” Findley said.
Blue Apron’s stock has shed 34.8% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 index
SPX,
has rallied 16.4%.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
