By Senad Karaahmetovic
Oatly (NASDAQ:OTLY) reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue and announced $425 million in new financing.
Shares initially rose 6% before paring gains to trade nearly flat in premarket Wednesday.
Oatly reported a loss per share of $0.21 on revenue of $195.1M, which compares to the average analyst consensus for a loss per share of $0.14 on revenue of $180.4M. A strong EMEA region outperformance fueled the beat.
“We took bold actions to strengthen our management team, transition our supply chain to a more asset-light model, and simplify our cost structure. We finished the year with a solid fourth quarter, and we have continued that momentum into 2023,” said CEO Toni Petersson.
The company also offered a full-year forecast that sees revenue growth between 23% and 28% at constant currency. Oatly expects to deliver positive adjusted EBITDA in 2024 while long-term gross profit margins are seen in the region of 35-40%.
Oatly also said it raised $425M in new funding, including $125M via a 5-year loan at 7.5% and $300M via 9.25% convertible senior PIK notes due 2028.
“We can understand if investors were hoping for a larger conversion premium than 17%, it's still better than a straight equity offering and clarity is a net positive,” said Mizuho analysts.
“Looking to FY23, we believe guidance is very achievable… We expect shares to trade higher today despite significant negative macro news in Europe.”
TD Cowen analysts added:
“The backdrop appears supportive of flipping headwinds in FY22 to tailwinds; more hybrid manufacturing, China (traffic), Europe (compares), U.S. (distribution), and removal of capital overhang should be sufficient to catalyze the stock.”