Beyond, Inc. Executive Chairman Marcus Lemonis, in a conference after Beyond reported fourth-quarter results short of Wall Street estimates, said he believes the company has left its worst days behind and is on the road to profitability.
Beyond, the former Overstock.com business, owns and operates e-commerce platforms for such retail brands as Bed Bath & Beyond, Buy Buy Baby, Overstock and Zulily. Beyond recently invested $25 million in home decor retailer Kirkland’s in a move that sets the stage for a possible brick-and-mortar return for Bed Bath & Beyond.
Beyond failed to meet a Zacks Investment Research analyst consensus estimate for an adjusted diluted earnings per share loss of 74 cents. Revenues missed the Zacks estimate by 7.22%.
Net revenue was $303.2 million versus $384.5 million in the year-prior quarter. Operating loss was $42.9 million versus $64.6 million in the year-earlier period.
For the full 12 months, Beyond net loss was $258.8 million, or $5.56 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $307.8 million, or $6.81 per diluted share, in the year before. Adjusted net loss was $178.7, or $3.84 per diluted share, versus an adjusted net loss of $88.3 million, or $1.95 per diluted share, in the year previous, the company noted.
Net revenue was $1.39 billion versus $1.56 billion in the year prior. Operating loss was $191 million versus $118.1 million in the year earlier.
As he reviewed the immediate past, Lemonis said in the conference call company efforts to cultivate a return to profitability has been “fruitful” and added, “I believe that the worst is absolutely, 100% behind us.” Unless markets or the economy shift unexpectedly, he said: “We are headed in a very, very positive direction.”
Lemonis (pictured above) said Beyond’s performance on key metrics, such as gross marketing are positioning the company to become profitable possibly by the end of the year. In another initiative to reach that goal, the company is engaging in assortment rationalization, paring unprofitable SKUs that are only selling at acceptable levels on promotion or creating a bad site experience.
In announcing the financial results, Lemonis said, “We are exceeding our previously announced targets of margin improvement and fixed cost reductions, improved site experience, and the elimination of poor performing SKUs/vendors, which are all leading to our primary goal of making money. We will continue to make calibrated decisions to reset the base of the company and build a profitable foundation. We are excited by the progress we have made since November 1st and are further encouraged by the sequential improvements that have continued through February. While there is still much work to do, we will continue to make the necessary difficult decisions, leverage technology innovation and utilize our resources and partnerships to create a solid foundation that we believe will deliver profitability and growth.”
Adrianne Lee, Beyond’s chief administrative and financial officer, added, “Growing revenue is critical to our business, but it cannot come at the detriment of generating cash flow and delivering profitability. It’s vital for the company to reestablish the discipline we expect of profitable commerce, and the sequential improvement in gross margin and reduced fixed costs delivered in the fourth quarter was encouraging. Fourth quarter net loss was driven by almost $50 million of non-cash charges, primarily from non-core business activities, and $6 million of non-recurring items. Adjusted EBITDA loss of $28 million was a 43% improvement year-over year driven by a 380 basis point gross margin expansion, and we ended the year with a healthy cash and restricted cash balance of $186 million.”
