NEW YORK — Artisanal Brands, Inc., today announced results for its fiscal year ended May 31, 2011.
For the year ending May 31, 2011, Artisanal reported an 11% increase in annual revenues of $4,634,359 over the prior year period and a 15% revenue increase for the quarter ending May 31, 2011 compared to the quarter ended May 31, 2010. The Company generated a loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1,818,771 for the 2011 fiscal year. When adjusted for non-cash general and administrative expenses the company had a cash flow loss of $1,467,834. The loss was attributed to the continued personnel and marketing expenses the company is funding to build its new retail division.
Daniel W. Dowe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Artisanal commented, "Accelerating the revenue growth in each of our three divisions is our sole focus this fall now that the trade show season has ended. During this past year, we invested a lot of time introducing our new Artisanal CheeseClock(TM) program to the retail network serviced by our distributor KeHE and funding road show demos at select Costco stores in the Northeast region of the USA. These efforts resulted in our expansion into Costco's southeastern region this summer and the placement of our retail concept in 24 states. We have also met with Costco's San Diego, Los Angeles and Northwest regions about further expansion this fall.
"We expect the recent completion of our equity offering to increase sales as our inventory will be at levels where we can take on new business development without delays. We are heading into our fall and holiday seasons, the strongest four months of our fiscal year. This year though, we have several new growth initiatives that aren't just holiday-related. Our new plan with KeHE to offer our customized Artisanal refrigeration cases to select retailers has increased the pace of new stores that are taking on our program. Our e-commerce business will benefit from our new drop ship business with affiliates Gilt Taste, Harry and David and soon, Allen Brothers. Our foodservice business is also beginning to see more gains from premium hotels and restaurants that retrenched during the recession.
"The recent equity closing is also helping us recruit new senior level sales professionals and field sales personnel to build out a national sales organization. We have three businesses under one roof and we need a deeper bench to keep each business unit on track. In each of the three businesses, we are working with major companies that understand our vision and want to be part of our future growth. For example, KeHE services 20,000 retail stores through a national sales force of over 1,000 people. We need regional people that can work closely with KeHE's sales team as we target 3,800 stores over a 3 year period. This is an aggressive plan and we believe we have the building blocks in place with our retail, foodservice and e-commerce initiatives to drive revenue growth. Enlisting good sales people will accelerate our success as we evolve from an early stage company reliant on one entrepreneur to a developing company with a more traditionally management-oriented structure."
Conference Call
Artisanal Brands will host a conference call on Friday, September 16, 2011 beginning at 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time, to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended May 31, 2011.
The conference call may be accessed in the U.S. and Canada by dialing toll-free 1-877-407-9210. International callers may access the call by dialing 1-201-689-8049.
A replay of the teleconference will be available for thirty days after the call and may be accessed domestically by dialing 1-877-660-6853 and international callers may dial 1-201-612-7415. Callers must enter account number 286 and conference number 379319.
The webcast can also be accessed at http://www.InvestorCalendar.com . An online replay will be available shortly after the call.
About Artisanal Premium Cheese
In August 2007 Artisanal Brands, Inc. acquired 100% of the ownership interests in Artisanal Premium Cheese. The Company operates in the specialty cheese market in the United States. The company markets and distributes a line of specialty, artisanal and farmstead cheese products, as well as other related specialty food products under its own brand to food wholesalers and retailers, as well as directly to consumers through its catalogue and Web site, artisanalcheese.com. Artisanal Brands, Inc. is based in New York, New York.
Safe Harbor Statement:
Forward-looking statements made in this press release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current management expectations that involve risks and uncertainties that may result in such expectations not being realized. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks described in Company filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Source: Artisanal Brands, Inc.