Vital Farms reported a first quarter net revenue record of US$119.2 million, a 54.7% increase compared to the first quarter of 2022.
In its first quarter 2023 financial results, the producer attributed the significant increase to high egg prices, strong consumer demand for shell eggs and volume gains.
“2023 is off to a tremendous start, as we achieved the highest net revenue and adjusted EBITDA in a single quarter in Vital Farms' history at US$119.2 million and US$13.9 million, respectively. This was driven by both strong internal execution and robust consumer demand for our products as our volumes grew 26% during the period,” stated Russell Diez-Canseco, Vital Farms President and CEO.
The producer’s record quarter was reported shortly after its recent announcement of a new partnership with food distribution company Dot Foods. Dot Foods has a network of 5,200 distributors across the U.S. and will make select Vital Farms’ egg offerings available in all 50 U.S. states in 2023.
Three of the egg producer’s products are in distribution, including bulk cases of 180 shell eggs, 20-pound bags of liquid eggs and hard-boiled eggs in a grab-and-go 2-count package.
More on Vital Farms’ financial review
Vital’s gross profit for the quarter was US$42.7 million, or 35.8% of net revenue, compared to US$21.7 million, or 28.2% of net revenue, in the same quarter in 2022. The increase in gross profit was attributed to greater sales.
Additionally, elevated shell egg pricing benefitted the producer’s gross margins, however, they were offset by higher input and packaging costs in its shell egg and butter sectors.
The producer’s income from operations for the quarter was US$10.9 million, compared to a loss from operations of US$4.1 million in the first quarter of 2022 due to higher input, shipping and distribution expenses.
The increase was primarily attributable to Vital’s sales and gross profit and would have been higher had it not been for employee-related expenses and marketing costs.
