Funko, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNKO) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

So full-blown ERP Phase 1 will not be completed until sometime in 2024, but we’re able to separate warehouse management from that now and go down that path separately.

Alexander Perry: Perfect. That’s really helpful. Best of luck going forward.

Steve Nave: Thank you. Appreciate the questions.

Operator: The next question on the line comes from Linda Bolton-Weiser of D.A. Davidson & Co. Please go ahead.

Linda Bolton-Weiser: Yes, hi. I’m sorry if you answered this because I missed the very beginning of your commentary, but like my understanding was that this distribution center was like almost inaccessible, like it was just so many problems and that therefore, you had to have duplicative storage and inventory in third-party locations. So are you saying now that you are accessing the DC? Or like — I’m just not — I’m trying to figure out like what has happened since the last time you spoke about all this.

Steve Nave: Yes, sure. So I mean, we’ve been operating that distribution center since, I believe, June or July of last summer when it went live. The problem with the inventory is it just became too cumbersome to operate in any sort of efficient manner. So the notion that we’ve not been able to access it, I would say, is not quite accurate. We’ve been using it. It’s been incredibly inefficient both because of the system issue as well as the inventory starting to pile up. And so yes, I mean, like I answered from the last call, we’re already seeing some of the benefits of the changes that were taking place. Does that cover everything you asked?

Linda Bolton-Weiser: Yes. Yes, that’s fine. And previously, I know you were just giving very rough guidance before because you didn’t quite know probably, but I know you were talking about an SG&A — adjusted SG&A level of $100 million per quarter thereabouts. Is that still the case? Or I know you said it like it’s going to be that high in first quarter, then it’s going to come down? Or what’s the color on that?

Steve Nave: Yes. So the — our SG&A expenses this year, we’ve got some headwinds there the annualization of some expenses and payroll that we — new payroll that we incurred last year. We are working very aggressively to bring that down. Inside SG&A is the variable labor. Well, it’s more than just the variable labor, but mostly variable labor of our distribution centers. So you’re going to see improvements there. Again, back to my previous answers, probably not until — I mean we’re seeing some benefit now, but real benefit not until later this year. And then we’ve got a number of cost takeout initiatives that Brian alluded to that are underway that are going to bring it down even more.

Linda Bolton-Weiser: So — sorry, I didn’t glance at your SG&A in the fourth quarter yet, but what was that number? And then how much of that in the fourth quarter SG&A is unusual type expenses that will eventually go away?

Steve Nave: I might need to follow up with you on that question just to make sure that I’m capturing it correctly. Our fourth quarter SG&A was about — was $139 million, that included — that includes a $32 million charge for the ERP write-down that I just discussed. And then small single-digit millions of other non-recurring onetime expenses.

Linda Bolton-Weiser: Right. So even excluding the charge, that’s like whatever, $100 million. That’s a very large number for a company of your size. So I’m trying to figure out like what’s normal if you’ve got all these things going on because just a few quarters ago, your SG&A was like, I don’t know, it was like below $70 million or something. So how much of it is like unusual like that’s nonrecurring sort of once you fix all your problems?