DAVIDsTEA - Earnings Call - Q3 2026

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to DAVIDsTEA's third quarter results webcast for fiscal 2025. Today's webcast is being recorded and is in a listen only mode. Before we get started, I would like to remind you of the Company's safe harbor language. This webcast includes forward-looking statements about expectations for the performance of the business in the coming quarter and year. Each forward-looking statement contained in this webcast is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements. Additional information regarding these factors appears under the heading Risk Factors and Uncertainties in the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, which was filed with Canadian regulatory authorities and is available on www.sedarplus.ca.

The forward-looking statements in this discussion speak only as of today's date and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. If any non-IFRS financial measure is used during this webcast, reconciliation to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure will be detailed in the MD&A. As a reminder, all dollar amounts referred to are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. Now I would like to turn the call over to Sarah Segal, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Brand Officer of DAVIDsTEA.

Sarah Segal (CEO and Chief Brand Officer)

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. The company has maintained the focus on its retail store-driven omnichannel growth strategy with brick-and-mortar sales increasing 3% year-over-year. Despite lower sales in Q3, the focus is on ensuring positive revenue trends continue in Q4. More impressively in the quarter, comparable store sales were up 3%, which is meaningful given that we were lapping an exceptionally strong prior year performance when comparable store sales surged more than 18%. In other words, we delivered growth on top of exceptional growth the year before, underscoring the strength and momentum of our retail business.

For their part, online and wholesale channel sales declined in the third quarter of 2025 due to a combination of soft economic conditions, imposition of U.S. tariffs and the end of the de minimis exception that had previously spared most of our orders to the United States from duties and taxes. Timing of wholesale accounts continue to make it difficult to determine full year performance by quarter. Online demand slowed in our U.S. market as a result of these additional challenges, as well as less spending on digital marketing initiatives in order to have more budget for the end of year and Black Friday. Overall, we reported a net loss of CAD 0.6 million on sales of CAD 12.6 million in the quarter, bringing DAVIDsTEA closer to its goal of generating profitability on an IFRS basis.

Heading into the revenue-intensive fourth quarter, which includes the recent Black Friday, Cyber Monday shopping frenzy, and gift-giving holiday season, early indicators have been encouraging, and we're focused, with brick-and-mortar sales up mid-single digits year-over-year in the first five weeks of the quarter. Despite a cautious consumer landscape and a value-driven economic environment, DAVIDsTEA continues to be a wellness-driven, unique gifting option in the market. Strong gift assortments, competitive matcha variety, as well as seasonal loose leaf tea flavors continue to drive the momentum towards a strong holiday season. Moving through the holiday season, DAVIDsTEA has seen success with the in-demand 24 Days of Tea Advent calendar that contains hand-picked blends ranging from fruity herbal teas to rich aromatic chai and everything in between. This year's version sold out quickly and exceeded performance targets.

Many other gifting options were available to build on the high demand for limited edition gifts and flavors. Strong gifting categories continue to drive performance with caffeine-free herbal options, traditional Earl Grey and black tea, seasonal twists and our limited edition candy cane collection. Innovation in the beverage offering for the company with the opening of three Matcha-themed drink bars in stores across Canada has demonstrated a consumer interest in enhanced beverage offerings, the Matcha category overall, and another reason to increase frequency in our brick-and-mortar locations. On the operations front, renovations at our flagship store in Montréal's South Shore were completed ahead of schedule last quarter, enabling the new look store to reopen in October and generate healthy revenue.

We also unveiled a new retail store at Laurier Québec Mall in Québec City last week, raising the number of DAVIDsTEA locations in the provincial capital to two and a total of 10 in Quebec. In addition, we are on track to open at least six additional premises in fiscal 2026. Consequently, we remain on track to have 27 DAVIDsTEA stores within our portfolio by the end of 2026 and double our footprint over the next three years. We believe concentrating our growth strategy around retail stores will not only expand our footprint in communities across Canada, but also enhance online and wholesale channel sales based on increased brand exposure, a positive in store experience and an increased ability to discover our wide, highly sensory assortment in person.

I cannot stress enough the importance of our expert tea guides leading consumers along an exploratory journey, having them smell and sample our premium teas and curated blends to create an unmatched discovery experience. This exploration phase is key to generating sales in store while multiplying opportunities across online and wholesale platforms for repeat business. Ultimately, with a continued focus on re-entering communities across Canada through our retail store driven omnichannel growth strategy combined with a disciplined management of our costs should return the company to sustained profitable growth. I will now turn the webcast over to Frank Zitella, President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of DAVIDsTEA.

Frank Zitella (President, CFO and COO)

Thank you, Sarah, and good morning everyone. Before reviewing our third quarter results, I'd like to say a few words about our liquidity position. To support our working capital requirements and the opening of new stores in Canada, we entered into a CAD 2.7 million revenue-linked financing arrangement and post quarter end closed on a private placement of CAD 3 million. The private placement will be reflected in our Q4 financial results. These initiatives together strengthen our liquidity position and financial flexibility and will enable DAVIDsTEA to execute against its value creation strategy creating value for all shareholders. As at November 1, 2025, DAVIDsTEA had a cash position of CAD 8.1 million and working capital of CAD 10.7 million. Now turning to our quarterly results, sales decreased 10.2% to CAD 12.6 million in the third quarter of 2025.

This year-over-year decline can be attributed to lower online and wholesale channel revenues based on factors that Sarah outlined earlier, partially offset by higher brick-and-mortar sales. On a channel basis, brick-and-mortar same-store sales grew by 2.9% to CAD 4.9 million in Q3 2025. Online sales decreased by CAD 1.1 million year-over-year to CAD 5.3 million, while wholesale channel sales declined by CAD 0.5 million to CAD 2.5 million. Geographically, Canada represented 89% of total sales in the third quarter of 2025 while the U.S. accounted for 11%. Revenue south of the border decreased by CAD 0.6 million year-over-year. Gross profit decreased to CAD 5.9 million or 47% of sales in the third quarter of 2025 from CAD 7.2 million or 51.5% of sales in Q3 of 2024.

The decline in gross profit can be attributed to lower sales, a marginal drop in product margin and a slight increase in fulfillment costs. These factors were partially offset by reduced delivery costs. Selling, general, and administrative expenses were reduced by CAD 2.3 million or 26.5% to CAD 6.4 million in the third quarter of 2025. The significant year-over-year improvement was mainly driven by lower IT expenses resulting from the successful conversion of our technology stack to a lower cost operating system in November of last year. These factors were partially offset by a net reversal in impairment charges on property and equipment and intangible assets incurred in Q3 of 2024, as well as an increase in wages, salaries and employee benefits in the most recent quarter.

In terms of profitability, net loss totaled CAD 0.6 million in the third quarter of 2025 compared to a net loss of CAD 1.6 million in the third quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, amounted to CAD 0.8 million in the third quarter of 2025 compared to CAD 1 million for the same period last year. Finally, cash flow used from operations totaled CAD 0.6 million in the third quarter of 2025 compared to cash flow provided by operations of CAD 2.8 million in Q3 of 2024. The variation is mainly due to higher inventory and lower trade and other payables compared to the prior year quarter. These items were partially offset by lower net loss along with a decrease in the impairment of property, equipment and intangible assets year-over-year. In closing, DAVIDsTEA has many reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming fourth quarter.

Retail store momentum, which has been building throughout the fiscal year, continued early into the revenue-intensive fourth quarter. On top of the one new store opening earlier this month in Québec City, there are plans for at least six more locations in 2026. Our cost structure has been aligned with our revenue level as reflected by significantly reduced SG&A expenses in the third quarter, and the recently closed private placement, coupled with the revenue-linked financing arrangement, has strengthened our balance sheet to pursue our retail-driven omnichannel growth strategy. As a result, we believe key building blocks are in place to deliver profitability in fiscal 2026 and beyond. This concludes our review of third quarter results for fiscal 2025. We encourage investors wishing to obtain additional color about DAVIDsTEA to contact Investor Relations, who will help coordinate access to management. Thank you for joining us today.