Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYFM) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Bill Toler: I mean when we go back and look at our monthly financial report, if you look over the goes month by month, of course, we’ve seen plus or minus $1 million for 9 straight months. So like why are we going to think we’re going to get a whole lot more than that, right? And so we basically just straight-lined it and actually seasonally adjusted down a bit for Q4 because that’s always the weakest quarter of the year. But we’ve been reporting last Q4 last year was $61 million. Q1 this year was $62 million. Q2 was $63 million. So there it is $20 million a month for 9 months. It’s like let’s not expect a whole lot more than that because the industry is not producing it right now. And we think we’re picking up share versus some other folks.

So it’s not like we’re losing battles in the field. We’re just in a smaller industry and the industry is consolidated. So back to your first question, which is when and how is it going to come back to growth. you still look at headset data, look at what’s selling out of dispensaries month in and month out, more pounds are going out almost every month that went out the month before. And so you’re still seeing sequential growth in product consumption. So there has to be a point of balance here that comes into the market at some point. We all have expected it a lot sooner, and we’ve all been surprised and disappointed by it, but we’re – we’ve got to be getting near the at some point here fairly soon. There’s just no way you can have a consumption keep on going out and not ultimately get supply and demand back into balance.

Peter Grom: No, that makes a lot of sense. And then I guess my second question Bill, one of your largest competitors talked about partnering with other players in the industry or potentially spinning the asset entirely. I just love to get your perspective on how you kind of see the competitive landscape evolving and do you kind of see merits in partnering with other industry players at this stage as we move forward here?

Bill Toler: Yes. I think that with this prolonged protraction and contraction of volume that scale would help us all, right. There is too many of us out there with sort of substandard scale now and infrastructure is built for potentially bigger businesses. But I am really pleased that we are standing on our own making money at these sales levels and we don’t have to do it. So, that’s important to comment on that. It’s not something we feel like we have to do. But sure, I would love to have more scale, and we have been involved in a number of different partnering stations, not specifically to the point you have you necessarily raised. But we have been involved with folks that are interested in finding ways to help each other to sell more product, right, whether that’s getting into other channels like lawn and garden or whether that’s getting into – consolidating more hydro or taking some of the gas to still direct and bringing them into our distribution network.

All of those are discussions that I would expect everybody in the industry is having right now to try and build scale. We all need it. And it’s important to build over time. But as I have said, I am glad to say we don’t have to have it because we are making money on our own even at these tepid sales levels.

Peter Grom: Super helpful. I will pass it on.

Bill Toler: Thanks Peter.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question is coming from Bill Chappell with Truist Securities. Please proceed with your question.

Bill Chappell: Thanks. Good afternoon.

Bill Toler: Hey Bill.