Yoshitsu Co., Ltd Reports First Six Months of Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results

TOKYO, Dec. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yoshitsu Co., Ltd ("Yoshitsu" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: TKLF), a retailer and wholesaler of Japanese beauty and health products, sundry products, luxury products, electronic products, as well as other products in Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, North America, and the United Kingdom, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first six months of fiscal year 2024 ended September 30, 2023.

Mr. Mei Kanayama, Principal Executive Officer of Yoshitsu, commented, "We believe it has been a dynamic first half of fiscal year 2024, marked by a significant growth in revenue from physical stores and our strategic focuses on the asset-light business model and franchise expansion in Japan. Our revenue from directly-operated physical stores increased by 99.0% during the first half of fiscal year 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, which we believe reflects the success of our new luxury product lines and our expansion in key markets, like Japan and Hong Kong, and underscores our commitment to enhancing our physical store presence and adapting to market demands. Looking forward, we are optimistic about our asset-light business model and franchise expansion in Japan. We believe this strategy not only streamlines our operational efficiency but also aligns with our vision to build a strong brand presence and optimize revenue streams. As we continue to expand our business globally, we are expecting this model to bring innovative products to the market more rapidly, respond effectively to customer needs, and improve our overall profitability. Our commitment to our shareholders remains steadfast as we look to the future with optimism and a clear strategy aiming for sustained growth and value creation."

Mr. Youichiro Haga, Principal Accounting and Financial Officer of Yoshitsu, remarked, "The financial results for the first six months of fiscal year 2024 present a diverse set of financial outcomes for Yoshitsu. We expect the adoption of the asset-light business model to enhance our market agility, foster stronger customer relationship, and elevate our customers' shopping experiences. We are focused on continuing to strengthen our financial foundation and drive sustainable growth in the coming periods. We are committed to consistently evaluating and refining our financial strategies to align with our long-term goals and market dynamics, and to ensuring that Yoshitsu remains resilient and poised for continued success."

First Six Months of Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Highlights

• Revenue was $74.2 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, compared to $77.6 million for the same period of last year.
• Gross profit was $9.5 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, compared to $14.6 million for the same period of last year.
• Net income was $2.0 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, increased by 496.6% from $0.3 million for the same period of last year.
• Basic and diluted earnings per share was $0.05 for the six months ended September 30, 2023, compared to $0.01 for the same period of last year.

First Six Months of Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results

Revenue

Total revenue was $74.2 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, decreased by 4.4% from $77.6 million for the same period of last year.

Revenue from directly-operated physical stores increased by 99.0%, to $11.6 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from $5.8 million for the six months ended September 30, 2022. The increase was mainly driven by the introduction of luxury products in directly-operated physical stores in Japan during the six months ended September 30, 2023. The increase in directly-operated physical stores sales was also due to revenue contributed from the Company's newly-opened physical stores in Hong Kong.

Revenue from online stores and services decreased by 63.2%, to $6.0 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from $16.3 million for the six months ended September 30, 2022. The decrease was mainly due to a shift in the Company's business strategy since August 2022. Instead of operating the online stores by itself, the Company entrusted the entire operations of all its online stores in China to third-party companies to minimize the operating risk. After the change, these third-party companies purchased products from the Company like other wholesale customers, and hence this portion of revenue was recorded under franchise stores and wholesale customers. The decrease was partially offset by increased revenue generated by the Company's online stores in Japan and revenue from advertising services through key opinion leaders.

Revenue from franchise stores and wholesale customers increased by 1.9%, to $56.5 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from $55.5 million for the six months ended September 30, 2022. During the six months ended September 30, 2023, the Company started to offer luxury products and electronic products, which led to an increase in revenue from franchise stores and wholesale customers due to their higher unit selling price. The increase was also due to increased revenue previously recognized under physical stores and online stores as mentioned above. However, the increase was partially offset by the temporary suspension of sale to certain customers. In order to mitigate the increased credit risk due to slow collection of the Company's overdue account receivable, the Company suspended its sales to certain customers during the period from May to June 2023. Sales to these customers have only gradually resumed since July 2023 after they accelerated their payments of the overdue accounts receivable to the Company.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue increased by 2.6%, to $64.7 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from $63.1 million for the six months ended September 30, 2022.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Gross profit decreased by 35.1%, to $9.5 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from $14.6 million for the same period of last year.

Gross margin decreased by 6 percentage points, to 12.8% for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from 18.8% for the same period of last year.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses decreased by 32.5%, to $9.1 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from $13.5 million for the same period of last year. The decrease in operating expenses was primarily attributable to a decrease in shipping expenses, promotion and advertising expenses, transaction commission paid to third-party e-commerce marketplace operators, payroll, employee benefit expenses, and bonus expenses and allowance for credit losses. The decrease was partially offset by an increase in consulting and professional service fees.

Interest Expenses, net

Interest expenses, net included interest expenses calculated at interest rate per loan agreements and loan service costs, which were directly incremental to the loan agreements and amortized over the loan periods. Interest expenses, net decreased by 27.4%, to $1.0 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from $1.4 million for the same period of last year. The decrease mainly consisted of a decrease in interest expenses at interest rate by $0.4 million, which was mainly because the weighted average interest rate decreased to 0.98% for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from 1.83% for the same period of last year. The decrease was partially offset by the slight increase in amortized loan service costs in relation to the Company's syndicated loans by $63,497.

Other Income (Expenses), net

The Company's other income (expenses), net primarily includes tax refund, disposal gain or loss from property and equipment, government subsidies, and other immaterial income and expense items. Other income, net increased by 159.0%, to $66,947 for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from net other expenses of $113,409 for the same period of last year. The increase was mainly due to the decreased loss from disposal of property and equipment, which was partially offset by decreased government subsidies received during the six months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to the same period of last year.

Gain from Foreign Currency Exchange

Gain from foreign currency exchange was $2.4 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to a gain from foreign currency exchange of $1.0 million for the same period of last year. The gain from foreign currency exchange was mainly due to the significant fluctuations of foreign exchange rate on the Company's accounts receivable denominated in foreign currencies, such as U.S. dollars and Chinese Yuan, during the six months ended September 30, 2023. The increase was also due to the increased gain from foreign currency exchange by the Company's Hong Kong subsidiaries, which was mainly due to the significant fluctuations of foreign exchange rate on its payables denominated in Japanese Yen during the six months ended September 30, 2023.

Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes

Benefit for income taxes was $0.4 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to provision for income taxes of $0.2 million for the same period of last year. The Company's benefit for income taxes increased by 268.1%. The increase in benefit for income taxes was mainly due to the increased deferred income tax benefit, which was partially offset by the increased current income tax expenses resulting from the increased taxable income for the six months ended September 30, 2023.

Net Income

Net income increased by 496.6%, to $2.0 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, from $0.3 million for the same period of last year.

Basic and Diluted Earnings per Share

Basic and diluted earnings per share was $0.05 for the six months ended September 30, 2023, compared to $0.01 for the same period of last year.

Financial Condition

As of September 30, 2023, the Company had cash of $2.8 million, compared to $1.8 million as of March 31, 2023. As of September 30, 2023, the Company also had approximately $74.2 million of account receivable balance due from third parties. Approximately 38.05% of the September 30, 2023 balance has been subsequently collected, and the majority of the remaining balance is expected to be collected by March 31, 2024. The collection of such receivables made cash available for use in the Company's operations as working capital, if necessary.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $3.7 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, mainly derived from net income of $2.0 million for the period, and net changes in the Company's operating assets and liabilities, which mainly due to the decrease in accounts receivable due from third parties of $6.4 million as a result of the Company's great effort in collection of overdue accounts receivable and the decrease in compensation receivable for consumption tax of $6.1 million as the Company received payments from the debtors according to the collection plan. Net cash used in operating activities was $21.9 million for the six months ended September 30, 2022, mainly derived from net income of $0.3 million for the period, and net changes in the Company's operating assets and liabilities, which mainly included an increase in accounts receivable from third parties of $21.8 million, which was due to the delayed shipments and longer payment processing procedures as affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Net cash provided by investing activities was $0.4 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, mainly due to repayments from related parties of $0.4 million and proceeds from disposal of equity method investment of $0.3 million, partially offset by the purchases of property and equipment in the aggregate amount of $0.2 million and disposal of a subsidiary of $0.2 million. Net cash provided by investing activities was $0.1 million for the six months ended September 30, 2022, mainly due to repayments from related parties of $0.1 million.

Net cash used in financing activities was $1.1 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, which primarily consisted of repayments of long-term borrowings of $0.6 million, payments made to related parties of $0.2 million, and repayments of obligations under finance leases of $0.3 million. Net cash provided by financing activities was $16.4 million for the six months ended September 30, 2022, which primarily consisted of proceeds from short-term borrowings of $74.8 million and proceeds from long-term borrowings of $2.2 million, partially offset by repayments of short-term borrowings of $56.1 million, repayments of long-term borrowings of $1.5 million, and cash consideration paid for business combination under common control of $2.8 million.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host an earnings conference call at 8:30 am U.S. Eastern Time (10:30 pm Japan Standard Time) on December 22, 2023. Dial-in details for the conference call are as follows:

Please dial in at least 15 minutes before the commencement of the call to ensure timely participation.

For those unable to participate, an audio replay of the conference call will be available from approximately one hour after the end of the live call until December 29, 2023. The dial-in for the replay is +1-877-344-7529 within the United States or +1-412-317-0088 internationally. The replay access code is No. 1325694.

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company's investor relations website at https://www.ystbek.co.jp/irlibrary/. 

About Yoshitsu Co., Ltd

Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Yoshitsu Co., Ltd is a retailer and wholesaler of Japanese beauty and health products, sundry products, luxury products, electronic products, as well as other products in Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, North America, and the United Kingdom. The Company offers various beauty products (including cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and body care products), health products (including over-the-counter drugs, nutritional supplements, and medical supplies and devices), sundry products (including home goods), luxury products (including branded watches, perfume, handbags, clothes, and jewelry), electronic products (including entertainment gaming products), and other products (including food and alcoholic beverages). The Company currently sells its products through directly-operated physical stores, through online stores, and to franchise stores and wholesale customers. For more information, please visit the Company's website at https://www.ystbek.co.jp/irlibrary/. 

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to," or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. In addition, there is uncertainty about the further spread of the COVID-19 virus or the occurrence of another wave of cases and the impact it may have on the Company's operations, the demand for the Company's products, global supply chains, and economic activity in general. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company's registration statement and in its other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

For more information, please contact:

Yoshitsu Co., Ltd
Investor Relations Department
Email: ir@ystbek.co.jp 

Ascent Investor Relations LLC
Tina Xiao
President
Phone: +1-646-932-7242
Email: investors@ascent-ir.com