Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Q1 2022 Earnings Conference Call May 5, 2022 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Andrew Squire - Investor Relations

Rob Kay - Chief Executive Officer

Larry Winoker - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Linda Bolton-Weiser - D.A. Davidson

Anthony Lebiedzinski - Sidoti

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Lifetime Brands First Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to introduce your host for today’s conference, Andrew Squire. Mr. Squire, you may begin.

Andrew Squire

Thank you. Good morning and thank you for joining Lifetime Brands first quarter 2022 earnings call. With us today from management are Rob Kay, Chief Executive Officer and Larry Winoker, Chief Financial Officer.

Before we begin the call, I’d like to remind you that our remarks this morning may contain forward-looking statements that relate to the future performance of the company and these statements are intended to qualify for the Safe Harbor protection from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and factors that could influence our results are highlighted in today’s press release and others are contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such statements are based upon information available to the company as of the date hereof and are subject to change for future developments. Except as required by law, the company does not undertake any obligation to update such statements.

Our remarks this morning and in today’s press release also contained non-GAAP financial measures within the meaning of Regulation G promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Included in such release is a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

With that introduction, I’d like to turn the call over to Rob Kay. Please go ahead, Rob.

Rob Kay

Thank you. Good morning, everyone and thank you for joining us today to discuss Lifetime Brands’ first quarter 2022 financial results. Lifetime has achieved strong results for several years and we have maintained this performance during the first quarter of 2022. This quarter is only the second time in the company’s history where we achieved profitability during the first quarter of the year as the seasonal nature of our business usually delays profitability until later in the year. This continued strong result shows the strength of our business model.

Compared to the first quarter of 2021 which was a record first quarter for Lifetime our net revenues, operating income and adjusted EBITDA declined driven by the impact of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and other macro factors such as the war in Ukraine. Our gross margin also declined year-over-year in the first quarter as a result of these impacts. However, compared to the 2019 quarter, which is a relevant benchmark prior to the significant macroeconomic impacts of COVID 19, inflation and supply chain disruptions, our growth in net sales, operating income, and adjusted EBITDA is 22%, 290%, and 109% respectively.