{"id":53510,"date":"2020-06-06T05:03:09","date_gmt":"2020-06-06T11:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/covid-19-hits-rocky-mountain-chocolate-factorys-bottom-line\/"},"modified":"2020-06-06T11:03:09","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T11:03:09","slug":"covid-19-hits-rocky-mountain-chocolate-factorys-bottom-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/covid-19-hits-rocky-mountain-chocolate-factorys-bottom-line\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 hits Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory\u2019s bottom line"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Rocky
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory profits decreased by 53.8% for its fiscal year 2020 to $1 million compared with fiscal year 2019, when the chocolatier had a profit of $2.2 million.<\/span>Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Profits at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory decreased by 53.8% for its fiscal year 2020 to $1 million and the rocky road for the chocolatier does not appear to be getting easier as COVID-19 restrictions limit sales and increases costs.<\/p>\n

For fiscal year 2019, RMCF had a profit of $2.2 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have experienced business disruptions resulting from efforts to contain the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), including the vast mandated self-quarantines and closures of nonessential business throughout the United States and around the world,\u201d the company said in a news release announcing results.<\/p>\n

For the company\u2019s 2020 fiscal year\u2019s fourth quarter, which ended on Feb. 29, the publicly traded Durango chocolate maker recorded a net loss of $524,000 compared to net income of $386,000 for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019.<\/p>\n

RMCF saw total revenue decrease 7.8% for fiscal year 2020 to $31.8 million, down from $34.5 million for fiscal year 2019.<\/p>\n

Same-store pounds of candies, confections and other products purchased from the RMCF factory in Durango decreased 4.6% in fiscal year 2020 compared with the previous year.<\/p>\n

Retail sales for fiscal year 2020 declined 5.4% to $3.2 million compared with $3.4 million in 2019.<\/p>\n

The company news release added, \u201cNearly all stores have been directly and negatively impacted by public health measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly all locations experiencing reduced operations as a result of, among other things, modified business hours and store and mall closures. As a result, franchisees and licensees are not ordering products for their stores in line with forecasted amounts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis trend has negatively impacted, and is expected to continue to negatively impact, among other things, factory sales, retail sales and royalty and marketing fees of the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

On May 11, the board of directors suspended RMCF\u2019s first quarter cash dividend \u201cto preserve cash and provide additional flexibility in the current financially challenging environment impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

RMCF, Durango\u2019s only publicly traded company, also noted that it had entered into a long-term alliance with Edible Arrangements<\/a> to be the exclusive provider of branded chocolate products to EA.<\/p>\n

The chocolatier entered into a long-term alliance with EA to become the exclusive provider of branded chocolate products to EA and its affiliates and its franchisees.<\/p>\n

Edible Arrangements creates arrangements, similar to flower arrangements but largely with fruit and other edible products, like chocolates.<\/p>\n

According to the news release, the strategic alliance represents the culmination of the Durango chocolatier\u2019s exploration of its strategic alternatives, including sale of the company, which was announced in May 2019<\/p>\n

Edible will sell a wide variety of chocolates, candies and other confectionery products produced by the RMCF or its franchisees through Edible\u2019s websites.<\/p>\n

Edible will also be responsible for all ecommerce marketing and sales from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory corporate website and the broader Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory ecommerce system.<\/p>\n

In June 2019, RMCF\u2019s largest customer, FTD Companies Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.<\/p>\n

RMCF warned it is uncertain if debts owed to the chocolatier will be paid at full value \u201cor if any revenue will be received from FTD in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chocolatier has also taken out a $1,429,500 Paycheck Protection Program loan from 1st Source Bank of South Bend, Indiana.<\/p>\n

RMCF does not have to make any payments on the loan until Nov.13, and under conditions of the PPP loan, the loan can be forgiven if the chocolatier meets requirements set by the federal government aimed at protecting workers from being furloughed or laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Any portion of the loan not forgiven must be paid off by April 14, 2022, at an interest rate of 1%.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring this challenging and unprecedented time, our foremost priority is the safety and well-being of our employees, customers, franchisees and communities,\u201d said Bryan Merryman, CEO and chairman of the board, in a news release from the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cManagement is taking all necessary and appropriate action to maximize the company\u2019s liquidity as we navigate the current landscape,\u201d Merryman said. \u201cThese actions include significantly reducing our operating expenses and production volume to reflect reduced sales volumes as well as the elimination of all non-essential spending and capital expenditures.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurther, in an abundance of caution and to maintain ample financial flexibility, we have drawn down the full amount under our line of credit and we have received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program. The receipt of funds under the Paycheck Protection Program has allowed us to avoid workforce reduction measures amidst a steep decline in revenue and production volume.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Durango chocolatier reports more than 50% drop in profits for fiscal year 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29,1355],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-53510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-rocky-mountain-chocolate-factory"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53510","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=53510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53510"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=53510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}