FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, April 27, 2000
WILD OATS MARKETS, INC. REPORTS
FIRST QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS
The Company will host a conference call to discuss this press release on Friday,
April 28, 2000 at 9:00 a.m. MDT. To access the call, dial (212) 896-6061,
reservation #14888271. A recorded version of the call will also be available
through 5:00 p.m. MDT on Monday, May 1, 2000 by calling (800) 633-8284 from
within the U.S. or (858)-812-6440 from outside the U.S. and referencing the
reservation # above.
BOULDER, CO - Wild Oats Markets, Inc. ("Wild Oats" or the "Company") today
reported operating results for its first quarter ended April 1, 2000.
Sales for the first quarter of 2000 were $211.2 million, an increase of 32% over
sales of $159.6 million for the same period in 1999. The sales increase reflects
the opening or relocation of six stores in the first quarter of 2000 and the
acquisition of 17 stores during the 1999 fiscal year. Comparable store sales
decreased 2% for the first quarter of 2000. Net income for the first quarter of
2000 increased 20% to $5.3 million from $4.4 million (proforma) in the same
period in 1999. Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2000
increased 21% to $0.23 from $0.19 per share (proforma) in the same period in
1999.
CEO Mike Gilliland, commenting on the first quarter results said, "Wild Oats
delivered record sales in the first quarter while continuing to grow our
business by more than 30%. In the first quarter we relocated two stores in
Hartford, CT and Salt Lake City, UT, and opened four new stores in Kansas City,
KS, Reno, NV, St. Louis, MO and San Diego, CA, one more than originally planned.
We continue to refine our new store prototype and look forward to debuting the
next generation Wild Oats natural foods supermarket later this year."
Wild Oats currently has 16 sites (12 new stores and four relocations), which
average approximately 24,000 square feet in size, for which the Company has
signed letters of intent or leases with projected opening dates as follows:
Projected Projected
Site Name Opening Date Site Name Opening Date
- --------------------------- ------------- --------------------------- -------------
1. Las Vegas, NV Q2 00* 8. Omaha, NE 2000
2. Portland, OR Q2 00 9. Southern California (2 sites) 2000
3. San Diego, CA Q2 00 10. South Florida (2 sites) 2000*
4. Bend, OR 2000 11. Kansas City, MO 2001*
5. Cincinnati, OH 2000 12. Long Beach, CA 2001
6. Cleveland, OH (2 sites) 2000 13. Westport, CT 2001
7. Northern California 2000
* Relocation
In April 2000, Wild Oats signed a purchase agreement to acquire the assets of
two natural foods markets operating as "Boney's Markets" in Escondido and Hemet,
California in exchange for approximately $13 million in cash. The transaction is
expected to close in May and will be accounted for as a purchase. The Company
will rename the acquired stores as "Henry's Marketplace" and incorporate them
into its existing region of 12 Henry's stores in metropolitan San Diego.
Wild Oats Markets, Inc. operates the largest chain of natural foods markets in
North America. The Company currently owns and operates 111 stores in 22 states
and British Columbia. The Company's shares are traded on the NASDAQ National
Market System under the symbol "OATS". For additional information, please
contact Mary Beth Lewis, Chief Financial Officer, at (303) 440-5220.
The following constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for the historical information contained
herein, this news release contains certain forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from the results
implied by such forward-looking statements due to certain risks and
uncertainties including, but not limited to, the availability and integration of
acquisitions, the timing and execution of new store openings, relocations and
remodels, the timing and impact of promotional and advertising campaigns, the
impact of competition, changes in product supply, changes in management
information needs, changes in customer needs and expectations, governmental and
regulatory actions, and general industry or business trends or events, as well
as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC filings,
including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1,
2000 and the registration statement on Form S-3 filed November 9, 1999.
Wild Oats Markets, Inc.
Consolidated Statement of Operations
(In thousands, except per-share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Thirteen Weeks Ended
----------------------------------
April 1, April 3,
2000 1999
---------------------- --------------------
Sales $ 211,241 100.0% $ 159,643 100.0%
Cost of goods sold and occupancy costs 144,717 68.5% 111,291 69.7%
------------- ------------
Gross profit 66,524 31.5% 48,352 30.3%
Direct store expenses 46,546 22.0% 33,996 21.3%
------------- ------------
Store contribution 19,978 9.5% 14,356 9.0%
Selling, general and administrative expenses 7,080 3.4% 5,684 3.6%
Pre-opening expenses 1,354 0.6% 674 0.4%
Amortization of goodwill 765 0.4% 456 0.3%
Non-recurring charges 10,894 6.8%
------------- ------------
Income (loss) from operations 10,779 5.1% (3,352) -2.1%
Interest expense, net 1,782 0.8% 250 0.2%
------------- ------------
Income (loss) before income taxes 8,997 4.3% (3,602) -2.3%
Income tax expense (benefit) 3,663 1.7% (2,445) -1.5%
------------- ------------
Income (loss) before cumulative effect
ofchange in accounting principle 5,334 2.5% (1,157) -0.7%
Cumulative effect of change in accounting
principle, net of taxes 281 0.2%
------------- ------------
Net income (loss) $ 5,334 2.5% $ (1,438) -0.9%
============= ============
Basic net income (loss) per common share $ 0.23 $ (0.06)
============= ============
Weighted average number of
common shares outstanding 23,000 22,626
============= ============
Diluted net income per common share $ 0.23
=============
Weighted average number of
common shares outstanding 23,464
=============
Pro forma net income (1) $ 4,449 2.8%
============
Pro forma diluted net income per common share (1) $ 0.19
============
Weighted average number of
common shares outstanding 23,183
============
(1) Pro forma net income and pro forma diluted net income per share reflect tax
adjustments for the fiscal 1999 mergers with Henry's Marketplace, Inc. and Sun
Harvest Farms, Inc. in separate pooling-of-interests transactions, which
included entities that were previously not taxable, as if Henry's and Sun
Harvest had filed C corporation tax returns for all periods presented. Pro forma
net income and pro forma diluted net income per share also exclude non-recurring
expenses and the cumulative effect of change in accounting principle.