TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Menē Inc. (TSX-V:MENE) (US:MENEF) (“Menē” or the “Company”), an online 24 karat jewelry brand, today announced preliminary Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 2018. All financial figures herein are unaudited, and the Company intends to report its audited 2018 fiscal year-end financial results in March 2019. All amounts expressed herein reflect Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
Quarterly Highlights
- Number of customer orders reached 6,729 in Q4 2018, an increase of 68% Quarter over Quarter (“QoQ”)
- Total Revenue was $3.4 million in Q4 2018, an increase of 71% QoQ
- Gross Margin was 25% in Q4 2018, an increase of 69% QoQ
- Number of jewelry units sold was 9,110 an increase of 47% QoQ
- Gross Profit of $0.9 million, an increase of 300% QoQ
- Inventory level of 244 Gold Equivalent Kilograms an increase of 80% QoQ
- Total Shareholders’ Equity of $21.1 million an increase of 109% QoQ
- As at February 20, 2019, 1,180 waitlist orders placed by customers, valued at approximately $1.6 million. Refer to Non-IFRS measures for a definition of waitlist orders.
Statement from Roy Sebag, Menē Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
“It is truly a pleasure to be witnessing the growth of this exquisite company and seeing my vision for Menē become a reality with each passing day. Our numbers for Q4 exceeded all my estimates or projections and culminate in an incredible first year. The likes of which few direct-to-consumer fashion or jewelry brands have ever witnessed. Menē is growing organically through word of mouth and by establishing thousands of global customer relationships. A jewelry brand that sold 9,110 pieces of jewelry generating $3.4 million of revenue over a 90-day period entirely online with not one physical location. Our customer satisfaction rates are superb having registered over 5,000 independent 5 star reviews on our website which in turn is leading towards significant repeat activity (about 35% of all sales). While being only a year old, our brand value is growing rapidly both in recognition and prestige. The most important metric to focus on in Q4 was the noticeable increase in gross margin from 15% to 25%. This increase in profitability was achieved while growing revenue by 71% and significantly reducing our marketing activities. When our audited financials are released in March 2019, I believe we will have a break-even or small loss on a Non-IFRS adjusted basis. This speaks to the profitability inherent to the Menē business model and one which has barely scratched the surface of its potential. Another important point to mention is that our 244 KG of inventory at year end (an 80% increase QoQ) has a significant unrealized gain deriving from the precious metal appreciation over the last few weeks. This means that our margin in Q1 2019 shall likely be equal to or higher than Q4 2018. Our shareholder equity position is strong, and we are fully funded to execute on our growth plans in 2019 and beyond. We look forward to reporting our audited financial results in March 2019 as well as our Q1 2019 results when the reporting period is over. We would like to thank all of your hard-working employees and the support of our customers and shareholders. These are the early days in what is going to be a long-term journey to make Menē a dominant force within the global jewelry industry. “
| Preliminary Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 1 | FY 2018 | |||||||
| Q4 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 | |||||
| Revenue (CAD) | 3,389,366 | 1,985,711 | 1,392,867 | 1,038,947 | ||||
| Gross profit (CAD) | 862,832 | 208,408 | 229,461 | 170,486 | ||||
| Gross margin 3 | 25% | 10% | 16% | 16% | ||||
| Total Shareholders' Equity (CAD) | 21,111,517 | 10,077,520 | 11,251,166 | 11,878,195 | ||||
| Inventory (kg of gold) 4 | 244 | 135 | 131 | 90 | ||||
| Customer Orders | 6,729 | 3,994 | 2,389 | 951 | ||||
| Units of Jewelry Sold | 9,110 | 6,168 | 2,920 | 941 | ||||
Notes:
(1) The period July 11, 2017 to December 31, 2017
are audited figures. The period Q1 to Q3 2018 have been reviewed by the
Company's independent auditor firm, KPMG. The audit for fiscal year
ended December 31, 2018 is expected to be completed in March 2019,
thereby Q1 to Q4 2018 figures are preliminary until the completion of
the audit.
(2) The Company began selling to the general
public in January 2018.
(3) Gross profit as a percent of net
sales.
(4) Inventory balances in kilograms of gold are
calculated by taking the total Canadian Dollar (CAD) inventory value at
each quarter-end date, and dividing the value by the CAD gold spot price
per kilogram.
Non-IFRS Measures
This news release contains non-IFRS financial measures; the Company believes that these measures provide investors with useful supplemental information about the financial performance of its business, enable comparison of financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in operating its business. Although management believes these financial measures are important in evaluating the Company's performance, they are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures do not have any standardized meaning and may not be comparable with similar measures used by other companies. For certain non-IFRS financial measures, there are no directly comparable amounts under IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be viewed as alternatives to measures of financial performance determined in accordance with IFRS. Moreover, presentation of certain of these measures is provided for year-over-year comparison purposes, and investors should be cautioned that the effect of the adjustments thereto provided herein have an actual effect on the Company's operating results.
Waitlist Order is a non-IFRS measure. Under the Company’s policy for the recognition of orders, we generally recognize the total contract amount for an order when we enter into a contract that we consider legally effective and compulsory based on a number of different criteria. The contract amount is the agreed upon price or fee for that portion of the contract for which the delivery of goods and/or the provision of services has been irrevocably agreed.
In the case of waitlist orders, the contract is not yet legally effective and compulsory until the good is available and ready to be shipped, or the service is ready to be fulfilled. For orders of this type, the recognition of orders thus occurs only when the good or service is ready to be delivered to the purchaser, whereby revenue will then be recognized. There is no comparable IFRS financial measure for waitlist orders. We believe that waitlist orders are a useful indicator regarding the future revenue of our Company.
About Menē Inc.
Menē crafts pure 24 karat gold and platinum jewelry that is transparently sold by gram weight. Through mene.com, customers may buy jewelry, monitor the value of their collection over time, and sell or exchange their pieces by gram weight at prevailing market prices. Menē was founded by Roy Sebag and Diana Widmaier-Picasso with a mission to restore the relationship between jewelry and savings. Menē empowers consumers by marrying innovative technology, timeless design, and pure precious metals to create pieces which endure as a store of value.
For more information about Menē, visit mene.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws that are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statements that involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as “expects”, or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, “plans”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “estimates”, “believes” or “intends” or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results “may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information.
This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time it was made, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, actual audited results differing from reported unaudited results; global economic climate; dilution; the Company’s limited operating history; future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing; the competitive nature of the industry; currency exchange risks; the need for the Company to manage its planned growth and expansion; the effects of product development and need for continued technology and manufacturing change; protection of proprietary rights; the effect of government regulation and compliance on the Company and the industry; network security risks; the ability of the Company to maintain properly working systems; theft and risk of physical harm to personnel; reliance on key personnel; global economic and financial market deterioration impeding access to capital or increasing the cost of capital; and volatile securities markets impacting security pricing unrelated to operating performance. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking information other than as required by law.