Press Release Details

• Raises full year guidance

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Franchise Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRG) (“Franchise Group” or the “Company”) today announced the results of its third quarter ended September 26, 2020. For the third quarter of 2020, total reported revenue for Franchise Group was $551 million, GAAP Net Loss was $8.6 million or $0.22 per share, Adjusted EBITDA was $50 million and Supplemental Information encompassing cost synergies and acquisition impacts was $1.2 million. Total cash was $179.9 million and outstanding debt at the end of the third quarter of 2020 was $628.7 million.

Brian Kahn, Franchise Group’s President and CEO stated, “Our businesses continued to perform well in the third quarter, which included further benefit from the sustained shift in consumer spending and the focus on health and wellness. Once again, our businesses and their teams have delivered robust financial results despite challenging circumstances. We believe that our performance as evidenced by strong comparable same store sales, as well as cash flow generation, continues to demonstrate the economic resilience of our business model. Comparable same store sales grew 15% at American Freight, approximately 14.7% for Buddy’s and approximately 8.6% for The Vitamin Shoppe. We continue to generate a high level of discretionary cash flow which enabled us to further reduce our outstanding debt by $111.9 million this quarter, including retiring the balance of our $70 million Vitamin Shoppe term loan while paying another quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share to our common stockholders.”

The Company has four reportable segments: American Freight; The Vitamin Shoppe; Liberty Tax and Buddy’s. The following table summarizes Revenue, Net Loss, Adjusted EBITDA and Supplemental Information by these segments. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to the most comparable GAAP measure is included below under “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Metrics.”

Outlook ⁽¹⁾
For fiscal 2020, the Company is maintaining its prior guidance of $2.10 - $2.15 billion of revenue, Adjusted EBITDA to exceed $232 million and Supplemental Information encompassing cost synergies and acquisition impacts of $28 million.

(1)   The Company does not provide quantitative reconciliation of forward-looking, non-GAAP financial measures such as forecasted Adjusted EBITDA or Supplemental Information to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure because it is difficult to reliably predict or estimate the relevant components without unreasonable effort due to future uncertainties that may potentially have significant impact on such calculations, and providing them may imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or potentially misleading. Supplemental Information adjustments represent realized and unrealized synergies consistent with the Company’s credit agreement. Estimates exclude potential acquisitions, divestitures or refranchising activities. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Metrics.”

Conference Call Information
Franchise Group will conduct a conference call on November 4^th at 4:30 P.M. ET to discuss its business, review financial results for the third quarter of 2020 and provide an update on its outlook for the rest of 2020. A real-time webcast of the conference call will be available on the Events page of Franchise Group’s website at www.franchisegrp.com. The conference call can also be accessed live via telephone at (877) 784-1793. The passcode is 7849566. Please dial in 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

About Franchise Group, Inc.
Franchise Group is an operator of franchised and franchisable businesses that continually looks to grow its portfolio of brands while utilizing its operating and capital allocation philosophy to generate strong cash flow for its shareholders. Franchise Group’s business lines include Liberty Tax Service, Buddy’s Home Furnishings, American Freight and The Vitamin Shoppe. On a combined basis, Franchise Group currently operates over 4,000 locations predominantly located in the U.S. and Canada that are either Company-run or operated pursuant to franchising agreements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Metrics
In order to conform with SEC rules consistent with concepts in Article 11 of Regulation S-X for non-GAAP reporting, Franchise Group will no longer report synergies and other acquisition costs as part of Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA. The Company expects to continue to report Adjusted EBITDA in the same format as it has in the past and will provide Supplemental Information that reflects cost synergies and other acquisition impacts as discussed below. The specific amounts included in each measure are fully discussed in detail below in the Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Metrics.

Adjusted EBITDA and Supplemental Information are financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP. Management believes the presentation of these measures is useful to investors as supplemental measures in evaluating the aggregate performance of our operating businesses and in comparing our results from period to period because they exclude items that we do not believe are reflective of our core or ongoing operating results. These measures are used by our management to evaluate performance and make resource allocation decisions each period. Adjusted EBITDA is also the primary operating metric used in the determination of executive management's compensation. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or other income statement information prepared in accordance with GAAP and our presentation of these non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Management defines and calculates Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization adjusted for certain non-core or non-operational items related to executive severance and related costs, stock-based compensation, shareholder litigation costs, corporate governance costs, accrued judgements and settlements, net of estimated revenue, store closures, rebranding costs, acquisition costs, inventory fair value step up amortization and prepayment penalty on early debt repayment. Adjusted EBITDA and Supplemental Information are financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Below is a reconciliation of management’s estimate of net income to estimated Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended September 26, 2020.

Supplemental Information: Cost Synergies and Acquisition Impacts
The following supplemental information reflects the estimated cost savings related to various management actions taken at our acquired businesses and other impacts of our acquisitions. It primarily presents the realized and unrealized cost synergies assuming such actions were taken as of January 1, 2020. The majority of the cost synergies or dis-synergies have been realized or expected to be realized by the end of 2020. Management believes this information is useful to investors as it provides relevant information regarding the status of the Company's transformation activities and the estimated impacts during the period. Reasonable estimates were made by considering the cost reductions from contract termination charges or modifications to achieve more favorable pricing, reductions in duplicative costs upon integration and optimization activities that reduce overall spend. As these amounts are estimates and certain activities have not been fully implemented, these amounts are subject to change. Management believes that there is a reasonable basis for its estimates and they fairly present the estimated effects of management actions related to the Company’s acquisitions.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projections, predictions, expectations, or beliefs about future events or results and are not statements of historical fact. Such statements may include statements regarding the Company’s results of operation and financial condition, performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its strategy and outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2020. Such forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions as of the time they are made, and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often accompanied by words that convey projected future events or outcomes such as “expect,” “believe,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “will,” “may,” “view,” “opportunity,” “potential,” or words of similar meaning or other statements concerning opinions or judgment of the Company or its management about future events. Although the Company believes that its expectations with respect to forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its existing knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurance that actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company will not differ materially from any projected future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Actual future results, performance or achievements may differ materially from historical results or those anticipated depending on a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. We refer you to the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s Transition Report on Form 10-K/T for the transition period ended December 28, 2019, and comparable sections of the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings, which have been filed with the SEC and are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements contained or referred to herein. The actual results or developments anticipated may not be realized or, even if substantially realized, they may not have the expected consequences to or effects on the Company or its business or operations. Readers are cautioned not to rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update, revise or clarify these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:
Andrew F. Kaminsky
EVP & Chief Administrative Officer
Franchise Group, Inc.
akaminsky@franchisegrp.com
(914) 939-5161

Source: Franchise Group, Inc.