Oatly Group AB (NASDAQ:OTLY) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Max Gumport: Got it. And then, just on the supply chain changes. I realize they are being positioned as a doubling down on the asset-light production model, and they should increase your focus and improve your cash flow and the confidence in your longer-term margin target. But to play devil’s advocate, a skeptic could say you’ve stepped back from Asia and you’re seeing declining sales in the Americas partly due to the step away from your largest customer in foodservice. It sounds like you’ve got the capacity to produce more than you’re selling. You’ve lowered your sales targets throughout the year. And you’re volumes did decline in 3Q on a year-over-year basis, and maybe you could conclude that growth has come down a lot for this business over the last several months. What would your pushback be to that type of narrative?

Jean-Christophe Flatin: Hi, Max. Jean-Christophe speaking. I have a very strong pushback for you, which is there is no demand issue for us. What drives demand is our ability to fully deploy our playbook. The underlying demand for the oatmeal category remains strong. And as Daniel said, Oatly is the key driver of category growth, especially when we combine sustained capacity, distribution gains, and ground-building investments. EMEA is a very good example for that. We have consistently stimulated growth in our core markets, and we are still gaining significant share. Just take the example of Germany or the Netherlands. Oatmeal continues to grow in a consistent high single-digit in volume market, despite pricing. And that’s why in the U.S., we are confident that with the recent and upcoming distribution gains, as well as increased brand activity, we will be able to replicate the same playbook and results.

And of course, in China, we just started recently to adapt to the new context. So, really, when you look at the reduction in CapEx, it is therefore simply a consistent ongoing calibration acknowledging the fact that we have found asset-like ways to service our goals and extension within our established network, and by doing so, strengthening further our confidence in our long-term margin. So, that would be my pushback, Max.

Max Gumport: Great. Thanks very much.

Operator: The next question comes from John Baumgartner with Mizuho Securities. Please go ahead.

John Baumgartner: Good morning. Thanks for the question. I guess first off, looking at Asia, there’s a lot going on there, I think. Just sort of restaging the portfolio, pulling back on profitable items, is there a way to think about where this business sort of bases out in terms of just seeing big year-on-year decreases in revenue? What’s the right run rate for this business at this point, what do you think? I mean, is this sort of the bottom? And is there more to go? In terms of absolute sales declines this year? Like, how do you think about resetting the base in Asia?

Jean-Christophe Flatin: Thanks, John. And it’s great to hear from you. Thank you for joining us today, as always. I’ll try to unpack that for you. And you’re right. There are multiple, multiple dimensions to our reset in Asia. The first one has to do with the context, right? Accepting and acknowledging that there’s a much tougher consumer and customer environment. With very clear repercussions when it comes to demand sensitivity, but also especially price sensitivity more than demand. That’s number one. So, we’re reacting to that first, right? And as explained in prepared remarks, not just on these earnings, but in previous one, the team has moved in record time to implement that reset plan that we announced. So, that is focusing the portfolio with a strong reduction of 70% in SKUs, channel in our proven perimeter, which is food service, and of course, a subsequent headcount recalibration.