{"id":25135,"date":"2024-10-29T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/despite-revenue-decline-rocky-mountain-chocolate-factory-leadership-pleased-with-progress\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:10:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:10:06","slug":"despite-revenue-decline-rocky-mountain-chocolate-factory-leadership-pleased-with-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/despite-revenue-decline-rocky-mountain-chocolate-factory-leadership-pleased-with-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite revenue decline, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory leadership pleased with progress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Rocky
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has filed a lawsuit against dissident shareholders, claiming the company was fraudulently induced into a cooperation agreement. (Tyler Brown\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. reported a slimmer loss for its fiscal second quarter ending in August, with signs of progress in revitalizing the chocolate maker\u2019s financial standing.<\/p>\n

For the period ending Aug. 31, the Durango-based confectionery,reported a net loss of $700,000, or $0.11 per share, an improvement over the $1 million, or $0.16 per share, loss in the same quarter last year.<\/p>\n

Revenue slightly declined to $6.4 million, compared with $6.6 million last year. Gross profit rose to $600,000, with an improved gross margin of 11.5% compared to 7.7% a year prior, a positive signal attributed to price increases and better operational efficiencies.<\/p>\n

Operating expenses fell to $7.3 million, down from $7.6 million in the previous year\u2019s quarter.<\/p>\n

Interim CEO Jeff Geygan highlighted the progress made as the company works to execute its multiyear strategic plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been focused on several critical areas of the business: strengthening the company\u2019s liquidity, rebuilding a strong executive team, expanding our franchise network, and laying a solid foundation for sustainable growth and profitability,\u201d Geygan said in a news release.<\/p>\n

In tandem with financial adjustments, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has made strides in expanding its franchise presence. It plans to open a new store in Edmond, Oklahoma, next month, part of a push into eight targeted U.S. markets.<\/p>\n

Before the quarter ended, the company reported strengthening its financial position by securing a $6 million credit facility, which allowed it to retire its previous $4 million facility. A credit facility is a loan arrangement that enables the borrower to access funds over a set period without reapplying for a new loan each time, offering greater financial flexibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a strengthened balance sheet, improved liquidity and a committed franchise network, we believe we are well-positioned to execute our three-year strategic plan and drive RMCF toward sustainable growth and profitability,\u201d Geygan said.<\/p>\n

Additionally, new franchise agreements are expected to materialize in the coming weeks, and the company is nearing completion of a rebranding effort to debut a refreshed store design by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

The company has also been making strides taking on local investors in the community. In August, the company sold about 13% of its shares to American Heritage Railways which owns the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Old Tucson and Branson Scenic Railway, among other tourist attractions.<\/p>\n

With these moves, the company hopes to pave the way for steady revenue growth and profitability.<\/p>\n

RMCF continues its bid to recover from a prolonged decline in stock value, following a five-year peak of $9.16 per share in January 2020. As of the market\u2019s close on Friday, shares traded at $3.18, marking a rebound from a particularly challenging August, where prices had slumped to a low of $1.53 per share.<\/p>\n

The modest uptick signals optimism for the company.<\/p>\n

The year 2024 has remained challenging for the company, with its share price still below the $4 mark it held in October 2023.<\/p>\n

tbrown@durangoherald.com<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

showing modest increases since August<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[431,950,28,1355],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-25135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-business-general","tag-durango","tag-headlines","tag-rocky-mountain-chocolate-factory"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25135"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78813,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25135\/revisions\/78813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25135"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=25135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}