Nomad Foods Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Financial Results

Rhea-AI Summary

Nomad Foods (NYSE: NOMD) reported Q4 2020 financial results showing a 4.7% revenue increase to €658 million and 9.5% organic growth. Adjusted EBITDA rose 3% to €119 million, while Adjusted EPS grew 19% to €0.38. For the full year, revenue increased 8.2% to €2,516 million with an 8.7% organic growth. Management forecasts a 3-5% revenue growth for 2021 and expects Adjusted EPS to range between €1.50 and €1.55, an 11-15% increase.

Positive

• Q4 2020 revenue increased 4.7% to €658 million.
• Full year 2020 revenue growth of 8.2% to €2,516 million.
• Adjusted EPS rose 19% to €0.38 in Q4 2020.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 3% to €119 million in Q4 2020.
• 2021 guidance expects revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth of 3-5%.

Negative

• Adjusted operating expenses increased 15% to €104 million in Q4 2020.

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE: NOMD), today reported financial results for the three and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2020.

Key operating highlights and financial performance for the fourth quarter 2020, when compared to the fourth quarter 2019, include:

• Reported revenue increased 4.7% to €658 million
• Organic revenue growth of 9.5%
• Reported Profit for the period of €59 million
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 3% to €119 million
• Adjusted EPS of €0.38

Key operating highlights and financial performance for the full year 2020, when compared to the full year 2019, include:

• Reported revenue increased 8.2% to €2,516 million
• Organic revenue growth of 8.7%
• Reported Profit for the period of €225 million
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 8% to €467 million
• Adjusted EPS of €1.35

Management Comments

Stéfan Descheemaeker, Nomad Foods’ Chief Executive Officer, stated, “2020 was an unprecedented year for Nomad Foods. I am proud of our collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially our commitment to servicing our customers while prioritizing the health and safety of our employees. The business delivered another year of strong financial performance, establishing a new foundation which we will build on during 2021 by delivering another year of growth across all key metrics. This includes our expectation to grow organically in 2021 which will be complemented by accretion from the Findus Switzerland acquisition and a significant reduction in our share count compared with last year as a result of our active buyback activity since March 2020."

Noam Gottesman, Nomad Foods’ Co-Chairman and Founder, commented, “We are pleased to report another strong year of growth with financial results ahead of our expectations. Nomad Foods has established itself as a uniquely positioned food company with a sustainable growth profile following four consecutive years of organic revenue growth and a series of complementary acquisitions. We are delivering on our commitment across all three elements of our growth model: organic growth, strong free cash flow generation and disciplined capital allocation. We are excited to build on our success to-date in the coming year which we expect will further differentiate Nomad Foods as a best-in-class food company."

Fourth Quarter of 2020 results compared to the Fourth Quarter of 2019

• Revenue increased 4.7% to €658 million. Organic revenue growth of 9.5% was driven by a 8.6% growth in volume/mix and a 0.9% growth in price.
• Gross profit increased 10% to €207 million. Gross margin increased 160 basis points to 31.5% due to mix, pricing and promotions.
• Adjusted operating expenses increased 15% to €104 million, reflecting a 30% increase in Advertising and promotion expense behind new consumer retention and brand building activities. Indirect expenses grew relatively in-line with revenue.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 3% to €119 million and Adjusted Profit after tax increased 9% to €68 million due to the aforementioned factors.
• Adjusted EPS increased 19% to €0.38, reflecting growth in Adjusted Profit after tax and the cumulative effect of share repurchases conducted versus the prior year. Reported EPS increased 39% to €0.32.

Year Ended 2020 results compared to the Year Ended of 2019

• Revenue increased 8.2% to €2,516 million. Organic revenue growth of 8.7% was driven by a 7.2% growth in volume/mix and a 1.5% growth in price.
• Gross profit increased 9% to €763 million. Gross margin increased 30 basis points to 30.3% due to mix, pricing and promotional efficiencies which offset cost of goods inflation.
• Adjusted operating expenses increased 9% to €363 million reflecting growth in both Advertising and promotion expense of 5% to €125 million and Indirect expense growth of 11% to €238 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 8% to €467 million and Adjusted Profit after tax increased 12% to €263 million, due to the aforementioned factors.
• Adjusted EPS increased 10% to €1.35 and Reported EPS increased 46% to €1.14.

2021 Guidance

For the full year 2021, management expects Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth of approximately 3-5%. Adjusted EPS is expected to be approximately €1.50 to €1.55, representing 11-15% growth. Full year guidance assumes organic revenue growth of approximately 1-2%.

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host a conference call with members of the executive management team to discuss these results today, Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. GMT (8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). Investors interested in participating in the live call can dial +1-877-451-6152 from North America. International callers can dial +1-201-389-0879.

In addition, the call will be broadcast live over the Internet hosted at the “Investor Relations” section of the Company’s website at http://www.nomadfoods.com. The webcast will be archived for 30 days. A replay of the conference call will be available on the Company website for two weeks following the event and can be accessed by listeners in North America by dialing +1-844-512-2921 and by international listeners by dialing +1-412-317-6671; the replay pin number is 13716748.

About Nomad Foods

Nomad Foods (NYSE: NOMD) is Europe's leading frozen foods company. The company's portfolio of iconic brands, which includes Birds Eye, Findus, Iglo, Aunt Bessie's and Goodfella's, have been a part of consumers' meals for generations, standing for great tasting food that is convenient, high quality and nutritious. Nomad Foods is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Additional information may be found at www.nomadfoods.com.

Non-IFRS Financial Information

Nomad Foods is presenting Adjusted and Organic financial information, which is considered non-IFRS financial information, for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and for comparative purposes, the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019.

Adjusted financial information for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 presented in this press release reflects the historical reported financial statements of Nomad Foods, adjusted primarily for share based payment expenses and related employer payroll taxes, non-operating M&A related costs, acquisition purchase price adjustments, exceptional items and foreign currency exchange charges/gains.

EBITDA is profit or loss for the period before taxation, net financing costs, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA adjusted to exclude, when they occur, the impacts of exited markets, acquisition purchase price adjustments, chart of account (“CoA”) alignments and exceptional items such as restructuring charges, goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges and other unusual or non-recurring items. In addition, we exclude other adjustments such as the impact of share based payment expenses and related employer payroll taxes, and non-operating M&A related costs, because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs, can vary significantly in amount and frequency, and are unrelated to our underlying operating performance. The Company believes Adjusted EBITDA provides important comparability of underlying operating results, allowing investors and management to assess operating performance on a consistent basis.

Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to profit/(loss) for the period, determined in accordance with IFRS, as an indicator of the Company’s operating performance.

Adjusted EPS is defined as basic earnings per share excluding, when they occur, the impacts of exited markets, acquisition purchase

price adjustments, chart of account (“CoA”) alignments and exceptional items such as restructuring charges, goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges, unissued preferred share dividends, as well as certain other items considered unusual or non-recurring in nature. In addition, we exclude other adjustments such as the impact of share based payment expenses and related employer payroll taxes, and non-operating M&A related costs, because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs, can vary significantly in amount and frequency, and are unrelated to our underlying operating performance. The Company believes Adjusted EPS provides important comparability of underlying operating results, allowing investors and management to assess operating performance on a consistent basis.

Organic revenue for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 presented in this press release reflects reported revenue adjusted for currency translation and non-comparable trading items such as expansion, acquisitions, disposals, closures, chart of account (“CoA”) alignments, trading day impacts or any other event that artificially impact the comparability of our results.

Adjustments for currency translation are calculated by translating data of the current and comparative periods using a budget foreign exchange rate that is set once a year as part of the Company's internal annual forecast process.

Adjusted and Organic non-IFRS financial information should be read in conjunction with the unaudited financial statements of Nomad Foods included in this press release as well as the historical financial statements of the Company previously filed with the SEC.

Leverage is defined as total loans and borrowings outstanding less the sum of cash and cash equivalents and short term investments, divided by adjusted EBITDA for the trailing twelve month period.

Nomad Foods believe its non-IFRS financial measures provide an important additional measure with which to monitor and evaluate the Company’s ongoing financial results, as well as to reflect its acquisitions. Nomad Foods’ calculation of these financial measures may be different from the calculations used by other companies and comparability may therefore be limited. The Adjusted and Organic financial information presented herein is based upon certain assumptions that Nomad Foods believes to be reasonable and is presented for informational purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of any anticipated financial position or future results of operations that the Company will experience. You should not consider the Company’s non-IFRS financial measures an alternative or substitute for the Company’s reported results and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these results and information as they may not be representative of our actual or future results as a Company.

Please see on pages 8 to 16, the non-IFRS reconciliation tables attached hereto and the schedules accompanying this release for an explanation and reconciliation of the Adjusted and Organic financial information to the most directly comparable IFRS measure.

Nomad Foods Limited As Reported
Statements of Profit or Loss (unaudited)
Three months ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019
		Three months ended December 31, 2020			Three months ended December 31, 2019
		€m			€m
Revenue		657.7			628.4
Cost of sales		(450.6	)		(440.7	)
Gross profit		207.1			187.7
Other operating expenses		(113.9	)		(96.5	)
Exceptional items		6.7			(4.6	)
Operating profit		99.9			86.6
Finance income		0.1			—
Finance costs		(19.6	)		(25.2	)
Net financing costs		(19.5	)		(25.2	)
Profit before tax		80.4			61.4
Taxation		(21.7	)		(15.5	)
Profit for the period		58.7			45.9
Attributable to:
Equity owners of the parent		58.7			46.0
Non-controlling interests		—			(0.1	)
		58.7			45.9
Basic earnings per share
Weighted average shares outstanding in millions		179.4			196.4
Basic earnings per share in €		0.33			0.23
Diluted earnings per share
Weighted average shares outstanding in millions		183.2			202.8
Diluted earnings per share in €		0.32			0.23

Statements of Profit or Loss (audited)
Twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019
		Twelve months ended December 31, 2020			Twelve months ended December 31, 2019
		€m

FAQ

What were Nomad Foods' Q4 2020 earnings results?

Nomad Foods reported Q4 2020 revenue of €658 million, a 4.7% increase compared to Q4 2019, with an adjusted EPS of €0.38.

How did Nomad Foods perform in the full year 2020?

For the full year 2020, Nomad Foods achieved revenue of €2,516 million, up 8.2% from 2019, and adjusted EPS of €1.35.

What is Nomad Foods' guidance for 2021?

Nomad Foods expects 3-5% revenue growth and adjusted EPS between €1.50 and €1.55 in 2021.

What were the drivers of Nomad Foods' organic revenue growth?

Nomad Foods achieved a 9.5% organic revenue growth in Q4 2020, driven primarily by an 8.6% increase in volume/mix.