Berlin / DE. (hf) HelloFresh SE released its results for the first quarter of 2024. The Group delivered its highest ever quarterly revenue of approximately EUR 2.07 billion, corresponding to an approximately 3.8 percent constant currency growth (Q1-2023: EUR 2.01 billion). The Company continues to capitalize on strong demand for its RTE offering, which delivered in Q1-2024 revenue of EUR 496 million (Q1-2023: EUR 322 million), corresponding to a 56 percent y-o-y growth rate in constant currency. The meal kit product category delivered revenue of EUR 1,559 million (Q1-2023: EUR 1,687 million), corresponding to a negative approximately (6.9 percent) revenue growth rate on a constant currency basis.
The Group’s positive constant currency revenue growth of approximately 3.8 percent was a combination of mild overall volume decline by (2.6 percent), and a healthy increase in average order value (AOV) across both segments North America and International of 6.5 percent in total on a constant currency basis.
Contribution margin in percent of revenue for the Group in the first quarter 2024 was 25.2 percent compared to 26.3 percent in the corresponding 2023 period, primarily driven by temporarily higher RTE production costs during its rapid ramp-up phase. This was somewhat offset by a contribution margin expansion in International by 1.0pp y-o-y, despite ramp-up costs of the automated fulfillment centers in Germany and the UK. The Adjusted Ebitda of the HelloFresh Group in Q1-2024 amounted to a positive EUR 16.8 million, a margin of 0.8 percent (Q1-2023: EUR 66.1 million; 3.3 percent margin). HelloFresh typically incurs seasonally elevated marketing spend in the first quarter, due to a sequentially strong increase in new customers, with a corresponding effect on Adjusted Ebitda in that quarter. This seasonal effect was further pronounced due to the company’s rapid scaling of its RTE product category, as previously flagged.
The HelloFresh Group outlook for the fiscal year 2024 remains unchanged: The Company targets 2 percent to 8 percent revenue growth in constant currency and EUR 350 million to EUR 400 million Adjusted Ebitda.
Co-founder and CEO Dominik Richter: «For the first quarter of 2024 we report our highest ever revenue per quarter and a significant year-on-year growth in average order value. Our continued investments into the customer proposition for meal kits, such as introducing menu customization options and product incentives, show promising results. This is evidenced by continuously improving customer lifetime values and very predictable order patterns of our customer base.»
«After tripling our meal kit revenues from 2019 to 2022, we saw a temporary slowdown more recently, however our strategic goal to diversify revenues is paying off nicely. Our Ready-to-Eat product category is scaling at high rates and our brand Factor is one of the fastest growing consumer brands in North America, more than offsetting the decline in meal kit revenues. RTE revenues now account for a quarter of total group revenues and we expect this share to grow further in the future. As part of this strategy we have announced launches in additional European markets recently, adding to the success we saw with prior launches in the US, Australia and Canada», Richter continues.
Factor expansion to Sweden and Denmark
Now the Company’s RTE brand Factor is also officially available in Sweden and Denmark, underlining HelloFresh Group’s position as a leading digital-first FMCG group globally. This step continues the internationalization of HelloFresh Group’s RTE direct-to-consumer (D2C) offering beyond the USA, after having brought the service to Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium. In the US, the Factor brand has established itself as the country’s RTE market leader, an achievement that has been enabled by HelloFresh Group’s strong tech and data capabilities, its D2C growth playbook and its expertise to manage complex supply chains and infrastructure on a global scale.
For additional information read the company’s PDF file below (95 KB):
20240427-HELLOFRESH-Q1-2024.