Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2011 Results

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and coffeemakers, today announced its fiscal 2011 third quarter results for the thirteen weeks ended June 25, 2011.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2011 Performance Highlights^*

• Net sales up 127% over the same period in fiscal 2010
• GAAP EPS of $0.37; Non-GAAP EPS of $0.49
• GAAP operating income increases 215% over Q3’10; Non-GAAP operating income improves 185% over the year ago quarter
• GAAP net income increases 206% over Q3’10; Non-GAAP net income up 167% over Q3’10

Third Quarter Fiscal 2011 Results^*

Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 increased 127% to $717.2 million as compared to $316.6 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2010. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 totaled $56.3 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, representing an increase of 206% as compared to GAAP net income of $18.4 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2010.

The Company’s non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 increased 167% to $75.7 million, from non-GAAP net income of $28.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2010. Third quarter fiscal 2011 non-GAAP net income excludes pre-tax items of $11.8 million in amortization of identifiable intangibles related to the Company’s acquisitions, $17.1 million in loss on extinguishment of debt, and $0.8 million in legal and accounting expenses related to the SEC inquiry and pending litigation. Third quarter fiscal 2010 non-GAAP net income excludes pre-tax items of $4.0 million in non-deductible acquisition-related expenses for the Diedrich acquisition and $4.3 million in amortization of identifiable intangibles related to the Company’s prior acquisitions.

On the same basis of presentation, GMCR’s non-GAAP earnings per diluted share increased 140% to $0.49 in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 from $0.21 in the third quarter of fiscal 2010.

"In addition to continued strong consumer adoption of the Keurig^® Single-Cup Brewing system, we believe our third quarter benefitted from our first-ever significant spring advertising and brand support programs, designed to raise awareness of the Keurig Single-Cup Brewing system and of our Brew Over Ice™ Teas and Coffees, perfect for the summer months,” said Lawrence J. Blanford, GMCR’s president and CEO.

The Keurig^® Single-Cup Brewing system brews a perfect cup of coffee, tea, hot cocoa or iced beverage in under one minute at the touch of a button.

"Keurig brewing is truly changing the way North America brews and enjoys coffee at home and in the workplace,” said Blanford. "We have seen awareness of the Keurig Single-Cup Brewing system grow faster and more broadly than we could have imagined just a few years ago. As we head into preparation for Holiday 2011 and planning for our 2012 fiscal year, we are both excited and humbled by the opportunity we see ahead for our Company, our employees and our valued business partners.”

Blanford concluded, "It is particularly rewarding to think that with our growth, the resources we’re able to allocate to socially and environmentally focused initiatives grows as well, amplifying the positive change GMCR and its employees continue to bring about in our local communities and in communities around the world.”

Fiscal 2011 Third Quarter Financial Review^*

• Approximately 82% of consolidated net sales in the third quarter were from the Keurig brewing system and its recurring portion pack sales, including Keurig-related accessory sales with the remainder of total sales consisting primarily of sales of bagged coffee and revenue from our office coffee services business.
  • Net sales from portion packs totaled $485.4 million in the quarter, up 136%, or $279.7 million, over the same period in 2010.
  • Net sales from Keurig brewers and accessories totaled $105.4 million in the quarter, up 66%, or $42.0 million, from the prior year period.
  • Supporting continued growth in portion pack demand, GMCR sold 1.1 million Keurig brewers during the third quarter of fiscal 2011. This brewer shipment number does not account for consumer returns to retailers. We estimate that GMCR brewer shipments represented approximately 92% of total brewers shipped with Keurig technology in the period.
• The Company announced a price increase in September 2010 that was implemented in the first and second quarters of fiscal 2011, and announced a price increase in May 2011 that was implemented late in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. If calculated based on pricing in effect during the prior year quarter, we believe the price increases improved net sales by approximately 13% compared to net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
• The acquisition of Van Houtte completed on December 17, 2010 contributed $111.7 million to consolidated net sales.
• Third quarter fiscal 2011 gross margin was 36.8% of total net sales compared to 34.4% for the corresponding quarter in fiscal 2010. The improvement of gross margin is due primarily to a shift in the Company’s sales mix.
• The Company increased its GAAP operating income by 215%, to $119.3 million, in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 as compared to $37.9 million in the year ago quarter.
• GMCR’s third quarter fiscal 2011 non-GAAP operating income of $131.9 million increased 185% over non-GAAP operating income of $46.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2010. Non-GAAP operating income represented 18.4% of net sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 and 14.6% of net sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
• The Company’s tax rate for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 was 35.8% as compared to 49.5% in the prior year quarter. The 49.5% prior year rate included the tax effect of the recognition of the estimated total $12 million non-deductible acquisition-related expenses incurred during the Company’s first, second and third quarters of fiscal 2010 for the Diedrich acquisition which closed during the Company’s fiscal third quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Diluted weighted average shares outstanding increased 11% to 153.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 from 137.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 largely as a result of the addition of approximately 9.5 million shares issued as part of the Company’s common stock offering completed in May 2011 as well as 608,342 shares of common stock sold to Luigi Lavazza S.p.A in a private placement pursuant to preemptive rights under existing agreements, completed on May 11, 2011. The offering raised approximately $688.9 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses.

Balance Sheet Highlights

• Cash and short-term cash investments were $106.8 million at June 25, 2011, up from $64.5 million at March 26, 2011 as a result of the Company’s common stock offering closed on May 11, 2011.
• Accounts receivable increased 78% year-over-year to $229.4 at June 25, 2011, from $128.8 million at June 26, 2010, reflecting continuing sales growth and the addition of Van Houtte-related accounts receivables.
• Inventories were $417.5 million at June 25, 2011 including $40.1 million of Van Houtte-related inventories. This compares to $177.2 million at June 26, 2010.
• Debt outstanding decreased to $421.9 million at June 25, 2011 from $1.06 billion at March 26, 2011 as a result of the pay down of debt with proceeds from the Company’s common stock offering in May 2011.
• The Company is pursuing a sale of the Filterfresh U.S.-based coffee services business portion of its Van Houtte acquisition, which is classified as "assets held for sale” in the Company’s financial statements, and expects to use any proceeds from an ultimate sale to reduce debt.

Business Outlook and Other Forward-Looking Information*

Company Estimates for Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2011

With one quarter remaining, the Company has refined its outlook for its fiscal year 2011 and is providing its estimates for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. It expects:

• Fiscal fourth quarter consolidated net sales growth of 100% to 105% resulting in total fiscal 2011 consolidated net sales growth of 98% to 100%, compared to the prior estimate of 82% to 87%.
• Fiscal fourth quarter fully diluted non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $0.44 to $0.48 per share, resulting in total fiscal 2011 fully diluted non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $1.63 to $1.67 per share. This excludes any acquisition-related transaction expenses; legal and accounting expenses related to the SEC inquiry, the Company’s internal investigation and pending litigation; amortization of identifiable intangibles related to the Company’s acquisitions; losses incurred on the extinguishment of debt; foreign exchange impact of hedging the risk associated with the Canadian dollar purchase price of the Van Houtte acquisition; and any gain or loss from sale of the Filterfresh U.S.-based coffee services business.
• The Company’s estimate of non-GAAP earnings per share for fiscal 2011 is greater than the sum of the actual year-to-date third quarter of fiscal 2011 non-GAAP earnings per share and Company’s estimate of the non-GAAP earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 due to the weighted impact of the increase in outstanding shares resulting from the May 2011 equity offering on the fourth quarter as compared to the fiscal year.
• Capital expenditures for fiscal 2011 in the range of $325 million to $350 million, up from previous capital expenditure guidance of $275 million to $305 million.

Company Estimates for Fiscal Year 2012

The Company provided the following first estimates for its fiscal year 2012.

• Total consolidated net sales growth of 60% to 65% from fiscal 2011.
• Fiscal 2012 non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in a range of $2.55 to $2.65 per diluted share, excluding any acquisition-related transaction expenses; legal and accounting expenses related to the SEC inquiry, the Company’s internal investigation and pending litigation; amortization of identifiable intangibles related to the Company’s acquisitions; and any gain or loss from sale of the Filterfresh U.S.-based coffee services business.
• Capital expenditures for fiscal 2012 in the range of $650 million to $720 million. In addition, as the Company secures new production facilities for future growth it may incur additional capital expenditures in the range of $50 million to $60 million in fiscal 2012.

*All comparisons to prior periods reflect restated financial results for those periods as reported in Annual Report on Form 10-K filed December 9, 2010. A complete reconciliation of the Company’s GAAP to non-GAAP results is provided with this announcement.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the Company provides non-GAAP operating results that exclude certain charges or credits such as acquisition-related transaction expenses, legal and accounting-related expenses associated with the SEC inquiry, the Company’s internal investigation and pending litigation, foreign exchange impact of hedging the risk associated with the Canadian dollar purchase price of the Van Houtte acquisition, and non-cash related items such as amortization of identifiable intangibles, and losses incurred on the extinguishment of debt, each of which include adjustments to show the tax impact of excluding these items. These amounts are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, GAAP. The Company’s management believes that these measures provide investors with transparency by helping illustrate the underlying financial and business trends relating to the Company’s results of operations and financial condition and comparability between current and prior periods. Management uses the measures to establish and monitor budgets and operational goals and to evaluate the performance of the Company. Please see the "GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation of Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations” tables that accompany this press release for a full reconciliation the Company’s GAAP to non-GAAP results.

Conference Call and Webcast

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. will be discussing these financial results with analysts and investors in a conference call and live webcast available via the Internet at 5:00 p.m. ET today, July 27, 2011. Management’s prepared remarks on its quarterly results will be provided via a Current Report on Form 8-K and also posted under the events link in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.GMCR.com. As a result, the conference call will include only brief remarks by management followed by a question and answer session. The call along with accompanying slides is accessible, via live webcast from the events link in the Investor Relations portion of the Company’s website at http://investor.gmcr.com/events.cfm. The Company archives the latest conference call for a period of time. A replay of the conference call also will be available by telephone at (719) 457-0820, Passcode 8608345 from 9:00 p.m. ET on July 27, 2011 through 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 31, 2011.

About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.

As a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative Keurig Single-Cup brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR supports local and global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas emissions, investing in sustainably-grown coffee, and donating at least five percent of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental projects. GMCR routinely posts information that may be of importance to investors in the Investor Relations section of its website, including news releases and its complete financial statements, as filed with the SEC. The Company encourages investors to consult this section of its website regularly for important information and news. Additionally, by subscribing to the Company’s automatic email news release delivery, individuals can receive news directly from GMCR as it is released.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein are not based on historical fact and are "forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the applicable securities laws and regulations. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate,” "believe,” "could,” "estimate,” "expect,” "feel,” "forecast,” "intend,” "may,” "plan,” "potential,” "project,” "should,” "would,” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Owing to the uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, actual results could differ materially from those stated here. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the impact on sales and profitability of consumer sentiment in this difficult economic environment, the Company’s success in efficiently expanding operations and capacity to meet growth, the Company’s success in efficiently and effectively integrating the Company’s acquisitions, the Company’s success in introducing and producing new product offerings, the ability of lenders to honor their commitments under the Company’s credit facility, competition and other business conditions in the coffee industry and food industry in general, fluctuations in availability and cost of high-quality green coffee, any other increases in costs including fuel, the Company’s ability to continue to grow and build profits in the At Home and Away from Home businesses, the Company experiencing product liability, product recall and higher than anticipated rates of warranty expense or sales returns associated with a product quality or safety issue, the impact of the loss of major customers for the Company or reduction in the volume of purchases by major customers, delays in the timing of adding new locations with existing customers, the Company’s level of success in continuing to attract new customers, sales mix variances, weather and special or unusual events, the impact of the inquiry initiated by the SEC and any related litigation or additional governmental investigative or enforcement proceedings, as well as other risks described more fully in the Company’s filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s analysis as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake to revise these statements to reflect subsequent developments, other than in its regular, quarterly earnings releases.

GMCR-C

(1) Represents direct acquisition related expenses classified as general and administrative expense.

(2) Represents legal and accounting expenses related to the SEC inquiry and pending litigation classified as general and administrative.

(3) Represents the amortization of intangibles related to the Company’s acquisitions classified as general and administrative expense.

(4) Represents the write-off of debt issuance costs and original issue discount primarily associated with the extinguishment of the Term B loan under the Credit Agreement.

(5) Third quarter of fiscal 2010 reflects the reversal of $4.0 million non-deductible acquisition related expenses and the resulting $3.2 million tax effect. The tax effect represents the reversal of the tax benefit associated with acquisition related expenses previously incurred during the Company’s first and second quarters of fiscal 2010 for the Diedrich acquisition which closed during the Company’s third quarter of fiscal 2010.

(1) Represents direct acquisition related expenses classified as general and administrative expense.

(2) Represents legal and accounting expenses related to the SEC inquiry, the Company’s internal investigation and pending litigation classified as general and administrative.

(3) Represents the amortization of intangibles related to the Company’s acquisitions classified as general and administrative expense.

(4) Represents the write-off of debt issuance costs and original issue discount, net of tax, primarily associated with the extinguishment of the Term B loan under the Credit Agreement.

(5) The 2011 YTD period reflects direct acquisition-related expenses of $10.6 million ($8.9 million after-tax). In addition, the 2011 YTD period represents; the write-off of deferred financing expenses as part of the new debt financing of $2.6 million ($1.6 million after-tax) and the foreign exchange impact of hedging the risk associated with the Canadian dollar purchase price of the Van Houtte acquisition of $5.3 million ($4.0 million after-tax).
The 2010 YTD period reflects the reversal of $13.9 million direct acquisition related expenses. The reversal of the acquisition related expenses had no tax effect YTD because the acquisitions were closed as of the third quarter of fiscal 2010 and the expenses are non-deductible for tax purposes.