The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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Michael Spillane: So, I’ll start with the second part of the question. Yes, exactly. It’s just the normal flow of the business and sort of timing. And I will also add, as we talked to before, we’ve implemented a new material sourcing, and inventory management system with our distributor. So, we loaded up a little bit before we put it in place, just an in Q1 just to make sure that we were able to correctly source and supply all our customers. So it’s not a huge piece, but it’s a little bit of what I discussed.

Diego Reynoso: Yes. And then in terms of Mountain Dew, we feel like the transition is tracking, but again, I would say it’s a little bit fluid. And we’re hoping within a reasonable time that we’ll have national distribution.

Michael Lavery: Okay. Great. Thanks so much.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] And the next question comes from the line of Bill Kirk with ROTH Capital Partners. Please proceed with your question.

Bill Kirk: Thank you guys for taking the question. I have a follow-up on one of [indiscernible] from earlier. I think it looks like in the 10-Q that in-house production number was 79%. And I guess the question is, one, that’s the highest it’s been in years. So, I guess the question is, seasonally, when we get to those bigger production months in the summer, what can that number look like? It’s 79 in 1Q. What can it look like in the heavier summer months?

Diego Reynoso: So again, as I mentioned, when we talk about where we would want to be, we want to be at 90-10. We know right now we’re between 80 and 85, two from 79, specifically in the quarter, but we’d like to get to 90-10 and that’s our plan. But it also depends on the mix of products that’s flowing through our facilities. There’s some specific products that we only have externally. So that is one of the key drivers of where we end up. But that’s our target to get to those levels as we go forward.

Bill Kirk: Okay. And then on the shortfall fees, it looks like you got a payment from the third-party, like a prepayment back from the third-party in 1Q. Is that related to the loan you gave them – kind of start the year? And are there any other mechanisms like that to reduce shortfall fees by extending them some money up front like in the form of another loan?

Diego Reynoso: So can you just repeat that question for a second, please?

Bill Kirk: Yes. So on the cash flows, it looks like there’s almost 3 million inbound from third-party production prepayments, like a positive cash flow from that relationship. And I was just wondering if it had anything to do with the money you lent them, where I think the payback, is a reduction in prepayment. So I guess there’s two questions. What is that positive number on the cash flow, and are there mechanisms to lower your prepayment obligations by extending them credit?

Diego Reynoso: So there’s two things at work here. There’s the timing of the amortization of the payment that has nothing to do with the loan. So that’s one. So and because we expanded part of our terms, we’ve changed the amortization of our payments. The second one is we’ve made a loan to Citi. That loan will be repaid – and the amount it will be repaid at will have some similarities to the fees that we would have been paying. But they’re independent. They just happen to be similar amounts as the repayment people have agreed. Does that make sense?

Bill Kirk: It does. Are there any other ways like that loan to do something similar to reduce prepayment in the future?

Diego Reynoso: Well, it’s not technically reducing the – shortfall fees, because the reality is we’ve loaned, and we’re getting the money back. That’s an independent piece of the shortfall fees. It just happened to be the mechanism, while we get it back. But in the future, what we’re doing is as our contracts come to an end, we are reviewing what footprint we want going forward based on our strategies. And based on that, we will negotiate with our third-parties, to see what the right level should be.

Michael Spillane: And I might add the 90-10 balance of internal, external is a longer-term goal. We’re going to have capacity to get there this year. And for the foreseeable future, City Brewing is our pretty much exclusive contract partner. And they are a key piece going forward. So it’s going to be a while before we get to 90-10. It’s not this year, probably not next year, but longer-term. We can certainly see that.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions at this time. I’ll turn the floor back over to Jim for any closing comments.

James Koch: Well, thanks to everybody for joining us and for giving Michael a warm welcome. And I’ll recognize David Burwick’s contribution to this quarter, because most of it was under his guidance and direction. So, I’ve been very fortunate to have two amazing people, help lead this company. Thank you.

Operator: And this concludes today’s teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

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