Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Marley Spoon AG Third Quarter 2022 Quarterly Results Investor Conference Call. All participants are in a listen-only mode. There'll be a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Fabian Siegel, CEO. Please go ahead. Yeah, thank you. Good afternoon to everybody. Thanks for joining our investor call. My name is Fabian Siegel, Founder and CEO of Marley Spoon, and I have with me here today, Jennifer Bernstein, our CFO. Earlier today, we released our third quarter results of calendar year 2022, and we're looking forward to presenting you those results today, as well as providing you with an update on the business. At the end, as usual, we'll open the call to your questions. Now, during the third quarter, the business continued to operate according to plan. Our strategy for this year was to focus on improving operating EBITDA while growing the business in a measured and controlled way. As planned, in third quarter, we delivered an improved operating EBITDA result in line with our expectations and good year-over-year growth. Achieving our growth and operating EBITDA goals, which we set at the beginning of the year, underscores the reliability of our business model in this current market environment. Our growth was achieved through continued execution of this year's three pillar growth strategy. First, we continued to invest with discipline into marketing to acquire new subscribers at unit economics in line with our internal target of six months payback and three times return over the lifetime of the customer, leading to a 4% growth in active subscribers year-over-year. Overall, marketing as a percentage of net revenue was at 14.6%, roughly half compared to the PCP. Second, our initiatives to drive average order value continued to yield solid results. Among others, average order value was driven by newly launched premium recipes that provide special ingredients or recipes at an additional charge. Our market initiative that offers up to 200 additional grocery items to our customers as well as price increases. Our market-leading recipe choices also contributed to the increase in average order value by leading to a higher average amount of meals per order compared to the PCP. Overall, basket size grew 28% or 14% in constant currency. Finally, our Chefgood business acquired at the beginning of the year continued to drive growth for our Australian segment. Overall, the successful execution of our growth strategy led to third quarter net revenue growing 26% year-over-year to EUR 100 million in line with our plan that had factored in a reduction of marketing investments in the second half of 2022 to deliver our operating EBITDA target. Contribution margin also developed according to plan and expanded year-over-year. Global contribution margin reached 28.8% for the quarter, an expansion of 70- basis points over the prior year. Operating contribution, defined as CM, excluding the impacts of marketing vouchers and fixed costs such as expenses related to site leases, was down 110- basis points to 37% compared to the PCP. Now, the margin and performance was driven by strong operational improvements and margin gains in the US segment, which again operated profitably this quarter and by an overall lower marketing voucher spend compared to the prior year. The Australian margin, while improving quarter-over-quarter, continued to be impacted by ongoing external food supply chain issues, particularly substitutions due to lack of availability or poor quality. Those tensions, however, eased throughout the quarter and the business continued to operate profitably in the quarter. European margin performance was poor, impacted by energy, logistics and food cost inflation, as well as last mile costs driven by labor shortages. We are conducting an operational review and have launched turnaround initiatives to improve our European performance to turn the business to profitability as well. As part of this turnaround plan, we have made some leadership changes to strengthen the European operations team. In addition, Ebony Morczinek has stepped down as CEO of the EU region, which will now be led by myself directly while I am performing the operational review and supporting the region in its turnaround. The continued measured growth at reduced marketing spends, combined with the contribution margin expansion compared to last year, led to an operating EBITDA result that was significantly improved versus the prior year and also sequentially versus the prior quarter, landing at negative EUR 1 million, excluding one-time charges from severance payments and this historical sales tax correction in the US. With this, I would like to hand over to Jennifer, who will walk us through some key metrics, the regional snapshots as well as the third quarter cash flow. Thanks, Fabian. We delivered another quarter of active subscriber growth, achieving 275,000 active subscribers globally, an increase of 4% year-over-year. This growth was led by Australia at 5%, followed by the US at 4% and Europe, which delivered 2% active subscriber growth. We saw the orders per subscriber decrease by 5% versus the PCP, but the number of meals per order increased by nearly the same amount at growth of 4.5% versus the PCP. In addition, average order value increased 28% in the quarter versus the PCP or 14% in constant currency. Price increases in all three regions contributed to this growth, as did the introduction of premium recipes, which offer customers higher quality proteins and a more elevated culinary experience at an increased cost, as well as improved attachment rates for Market. Turning to the performance by region, we were very pleased with the results delivered by the US, which saw strong growth in another profitable quarter. The US delivered year-over-year net revenue growth of 37% on a reported basis, or 16% in constant currency, despite a pullback in marketing spend versus the previous year and the second quarter of this year. Increased portion sizes, additional menu offerings, and pricing taken to offset inflation led to the net revenue growth, as did the growth of the region subscriber base. Contribution margin also performed well in the quarter, landing at 28.5%, an expansion versus the previous quarter and an improvement of more than 5% points year-over-year. The margin expansion partly resulted from reduced marketing vouchers in the quarter but also points to the successful implementation of the region's operational turnaround, specifically in terms of picking line productivity and improved service levels in logistics. This can be seen in the operating contribution margin, which also expanded versus the prior year, landing at 36.3%, a 230- basis points improvement. The net revenue growth and margin expansion led to another profitable quarter for the region, with delivery of EUR 3 million in operating EBITDA, an improvement of EUR 8.5 million versus the previous year. Turning to Australia, we saw the resilience of that region in terms of what it was able to deliver despite facing many external headwinds. Net revenue grew 24.4% year-over-year or 14% in constant currency in third quarter 2022, driven by growth in active subscribers and additional menu offerings. Further integration of the acquired Chefgood business, particularly into our global marketing playbook, also contributed to the year-over-year growth. Both contribution margin and operating contribution margin were lower versus the previous year. This was due to inflation, particularly in produce costs, the ongoing weather-driven supply chain challenges, and the subsequent ingredient availability and quality issues. However, the contribution margin and operating contribution margin of 32.2% and 40.3%, respectively, were an improvement over the last quarter by approximately 2% points each as we finally witnessed an easing of the headwinds toward the end of the quarter. Strong cost management to overcome the margin contraction helped deliver another quarter of operating EBITDA profitability, with Australia delivering nearly EUR 4 million, an improvement of approximately EUR 5 million year-over-year. Finally, in Europe, we continue to see softness as consumer confidence weakens and inflationary pressures persist. Net revenue was down nearly 3% versus the PCP, and while this was a slower rate of decline versus the previous quarter, order frequency was down year-over-year. Contribution and operating contribution margin were also not at satisfactory levels, trending far below third quarter 2021. Contribution margin was 17% flat versus the second quarter of this year, so operating contribution margin at 28% contracted 2% points versus second quarter. Food and fuel inflation and logistics costs and service levels were largely responsible. Nevertheless, despite the margin deterioration, the region held operating EBITDA losses flat to the PCP at negative EUR 2 million. Questions have been raised about the European business in light of this performance. As Fabian mentioned, we are undertaking an operational review of the business that includes advancing our turnaround plan. Progress against those plans include the management changes that Fabian spoke of and a more targeted country level view of marketing allocation and effectiveness. While it is too soon to call victory, we are encouraged by margin improvements we already saw at the end of third quarter and with preliminary October performance. Looking at cash flow, we ended the quarter with EUR 21.6 million in cash, due in part to the timing of payments. Positive cash from operations helped offset outlays in investing and financing. Taking each individually, cash from operations was significantly improved versus the previous quarter, landing at a positive EUR 3 million, which includes currency tailwinds. Our improved operating EBITDA performance, negative working capital, as well as the impacts of foreign currency exchange, contributed to the operating cash balance. Cash from investing activities was nearly negative EUR 3 million, with some minor fixed asset additions in the US and Australia and investment in our digital capabilities. Not reflected yet in investing cash is the EUR 1.6 million paid out to the former owners of Chefgood this month as part of the acquisition of the ready-to-eat business in January of this year. Finally, cash from financing activities was approximately negative EUR 4 million for the quarter, driven by our IFRS lease payments as well as interest expense, which increased quarter-over-quarter by EUR 800 thousand due to rising interest rates and the impact of a weaker euro. This quarter, we also obtained funding for our insurance premiums associated with the renewal of our global insurance policies in the amount of EUR 1.4 million. With this addition, as well as the change in cash quarter-over-quarter and the currency impact on the USD-denominated debt, we end the quarter with a net debt position of EUR 63.5 million. Looking ahead to the last quarter of the year and our full year landing, we are pleased to be able to reaffirm our guidance for full year 2022, namely delivering organic net revenue growth versus the PCP in the mid- to- high- teens before the full year contribution from Chefgood, delivering contribution margin in line with 2021, and delivering operating EBITDA better than negative EUR 15 million. Having delivered three consecutive quarters in line with the plans we developed at the start of the year while facing many unexpected or worse than anticipated headwinds. Gives us confidence going into the fourth quarter to land the full year as communicated in January. Specifically, we expect fourth quarter operating EBITDA to be profitable between EUR 2 million and EUR 4 million. This outcome is the result of financial discipline through measured investments in growth and a focus on cost control to balance the top and bottom line, an approach we expect to continue into 2023. With this, I would like to turn it back over to Fabian. Yeah, thank you, Jennifer. Overall, we are pleased with the performance of our business to date. We do not experience at this point in time a material impact from reduced customer confidence in regards to existing customer order behavior, allowing us to reach our growth targets at the planned level of marketing investments. At the same time, our initiatives to increase our average order value by providing more menu choices and additional menu items have been successful to date. We have been able to expand our margin in a stationary and volatile operating environment, being on track to achieve our margin goals as we continue to improve our operational efficiency while also successfully taking pricing to offset inflation. The continued controlled growth and margin performance underline the reliability of our business model in the current environment and led to a sequential and a strong year-on-year improvement on our quarterly operating EBITDA and operating cash flow performance. Furthermore, as mentioned by Jennifer, we expect another sequential improvement for fourth quarter this year as we expect to be profitable in operating EBITDA on a total company level. I would like to point out that the current operating EBITDA trajectory, unlike 2020, where the business benefited from strong tailwinds, is materializing despite the headwinds that the current operating environment is presenting. The sequential improvements throughout this year and achieving our guidance to date provide us confidence that our business is expected to continue on this development path throughout the following year, which with continued growth and improved profitability. I would like to thank everybody at Marley Spoon for the great teamwork that delivered good performance throughout the year to date. With that, I'd like to thank you for taking the time this afternoon, and now I'd like to open the call to questions. Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. If you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one. Your first question comes from Owen Humphries from Canaccord. Please go ahead. Good day, team. Thanks for taking my question. I guess just a focus on Europe. Well done on the quarter, well done on the profitability outside of Europe and also the guidance into the fourth quarter. Maybe just touch on, in your views, your view of what Europe is worth, the timing for the turnaround. Is it kind of the next six months? Is it a 12-month project? How much could it be? How much does it cost to shut down if you had to make that decision? Just kind of early views, if that's possible. Yeah, look, I think we are committed to the business model because it has and it is showing positive unit economics in Europe in line with the other regions. On a per user basis, this business makes a lot of sense for each customer and each subscriber we win in Europe. At the same time, as Europe is the smallest region, we always felt it is the last region that will get to the scale to reach profitability. It's not surprising that while Australia has been operating profitably for a while, US has been now transitioned into an operating profitable operating environment, that Europe is the last one to follow, but it's also a region that has to take that role. The performance to date this year was just not the right trajectory and, not in terms of how the consumer behaves, but in terms of how we generate margin from the services we provide. We therefore have this plan underway, where we review operationally every piece of the business to make sure it comes back to the margin profile that we need to reach profitability of the business. If you compare or you look at the performance at the second half last year, you see that you can get there. We have shown in the past that we can get to the right margins and operational efficiency that drive profitability. We did not go in the right direction. Yes, the environment was difficult, but that was true for all regions, so the European regions was not able to offset these headwinds. We have a plan underway, that if executed successfully, will bring the region to profitability on a full year basis next year, and we're executing on that plan. Now, we're not gonna, of course, execute without a firm timeline in mind, and without now guiding to a specific point in time when we'll make that decision. We'll make that decision in the course of next year, and we ensure that either the business achieves its plan for the full year, and if not, then look at alternatives. The business is a business that we expect to grow next year, again, that we expect to be profitable next year. I think there is a lot of value in these operations, and therefore, it's a bit too early to speculate what hypothetical shutdown costs would be, as we've not been thinking in that direction. We're thinking in turning the business around, bringing it to profitability, and making sure at the same time that this is a requirement for the region to be a value-add part of our portfolio. Maybe this gets us to focus given the drag in the balance sheet as the rest of the business is profitable. Just to understand, to bring the business given the plan, what revenue number is required for Europe per annum to bring it to profitability? Yes. I think we think the current scale, around EUR 50 million, is already putting us in the ballpark of what we need. I would expect that with at this revenue level, maybe a little bit bigger, we are already in reach of running this business on a operating EBITDA profitable basis for the fiscal year. It's not so much the top line. It's about being more effective in generating margin and managing costs to bring the business to profitability while carefully growing the business at good unit economics. Good one. Thanks, guys. Thanks, Owen. Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. We'll now pause a moment to allow for any final questions to register. There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand back to Mr. Siegel for closing remarks. Yeah, thank you. Thanks for joining today. Just as closing remarks, we set out guidance at the beginning of the year, and I think the fact that we are tracking to hit our guidance in this environment gives us confidence that this business model, which hasn't been operating in such an environment before, is actually quite resilient and reliable. It gives us lots of confidence that we will continue on that path of bringing the business forward at increased scale and increased profitability. We're looking forward to having more detailed conversations with many of you in the following week during our roadshow, either during the broker calls or in one-on-one meetings that we scheduled. Thanks so much for the time and looking forward to more conversations over the next couple of days. Thanks so much for joining. Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.
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