Volume recovery on-track; Revenue growth of +1.1% with Adjusted EPS of €0.44 Reiterates full year 2024 financial guidance WOKING, England, Aug. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD), today reported financial results for the three and six month period ended June 30, 2024.  Key operating highlights and financial performance for the second quarter 2024, when compared to the second quarter 2023, include: Reported revenue increased 1.1% to €753 million Organic revenue growth of 0.5% Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.3% to €139 million Adjusted EPS of €0.44 Management CommentsStéfan Descheemaeker, Nomad Foods' Chief Executive Officer, stated, "I am pleased to report strong 2Q results that demonstrate the growing momentum behind our business. Volume inflected to growth behind accelerating gains in our must-win-battles and the successful build-out of our growth platforms. Growth from these high margin products combined with our productivity initiatives to drive healthy gross margin expansion which provided the funding to meaningfully increase our A&P spend. Our investments are bearing fruit for both us and our retail partners – we see accelerating momentum ahead as our investment posture remains robust, our innovation efforts build and the distribution expansion behind our growth platforms scales." He continued, "As a result, we are increasingly confident in our ability to achieve the profitable volume growth acceleration that underpins our second half outlook. We are maintaining our full year guidance to deliver revenue growth of 3%-4%, Adjusted EBITDA growth of 4%-6%, and Adjusted EPS of €1.75-€1.80." Noam Gottesman, Nomad Foods' Co-Chairman and Founder, commented, "This year is proving to be pivotal for our business as we have shifted from protecting profitability during a once-in-a generation inflation shock to driving our volume and mix-driven growth. We are benefiting from an improving European consumer backdrop and strong category fundamentals which, combined with prudent investments and execution from the team, sets us up for continuing success. I am delighted to see these efforts already bearing fruit in the form of resumed volume growth this quarter and look forward to accelerating momentum through year-end and into 2025." Second Quarter of 2024 results compared to the Second Quarter of 2023 Revenue increased 1.1% to €753 million. Organic revenue growth of 0.5% was driven by favorable volume 1.6%, a marked improvement from a decline of 2.2% in 1Q24. This was offset by price/mix decline of 1.1%. Gross profit increased 10.8% to €233 million. Gross margin increased 270 basis points to 30.9% due to a positive product mix performance as we invested in our core most profitable must win battles, leveraged revenue growth management capabilities and Supply Chain productivity. Adjusted operating expenses increased 15.4% to €117 million due to the planned increase in A&P investments, ongoing investments in capabilities development, and some inflationary headwinds. Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.3% to €139 million due to the aforementioned factors. Adjusted Profit for the period increased 5% to €72 million, and as a result, Adjusted EPS increased by €0.04 to €0.44. Reported EPS increased €0.15 to €0.43. First Six Months of 2024 results compared to the First Six Months of 2023 Revenue increased 1.1% to €1,537 million. Organic revenue growth of 0.4% was driven by favorable price/mix of 0.9%. Volume decline moderated to 0.5%. Gross profit increased 2.2% to €444 million. Gross margin increased 30 basis points to 28.9%, due to a positive product mix performance as we invested behind our core most profitable must win battles. Adjusted operating expenses increased 13.5% to €228 million due to the planned increase in A&P investments, ongoing investments in capabilities development, and some inflationary headwinds. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 6.1% to €262 million due to the aforementioned factors. Adjusted Profit for the period decreased 11% to €132 million, and as a result, Adjusted EPS decreased by €0.05 to €0.81. Reported EPS increased €0.13 to €0.65. 2024 GuidanceFor the full year 2024, the Company continues to expect organic revenue growth of 3%-4%, driven by positive volume/mix, Adjusted EBITDA growth of 4%-6%, and Adjusted EPS of €1.75-€1.80, implying growth of 9-12%. Based on USD/EUR exchange rate as of August 1st, this translates into 2024 Adjusted EPS of $1.89-$1.94. The Company expects full year cash flow conversion in the range of 90% to 95%. Conference Call and WebcastThe Company will host a conference call with members of the executive management team to discuss these results today, Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. BST (8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). To participate on the live call, listeners in North America may dial +1-877-451-6152 and international listeners may dial +1-201-389-0879. Additionally, there will be a presentation to accompany the conference call and the call is being webcast. Both can be accessed at the Nomad Foods website at www.nomadfoods.com under Investor Relations. A replay of the conference call will be available on the Company website for two weeks following the event and can be accessed by listeners in North America by dialing +1-844-512-2921 and by international listeners by dialing +1-412-317-6671; the replay pin number is 13747206. EnquiriesInvestor Relations ContactJason About Nomad FoodsNomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) is Europe's leading frozen food company. The Company's portfolio of iconic brands, which includes Birds Eye, Findus, iglo, Ledo and Frikom, have been a part of consumers' meals for generations, standing for great tasting food that is convenient, high quality and nutritious. Nomad Foods is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Additional information may be found at www.nomadfoods.com. Non-IFRS Financial InformationNomad Foods is presenting Adjusted and Organic financial information, which is considered non-IFRS financial information, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and for comparative purposes, the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. Adjusted financial information for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 presented in this press release reflects the historical reported financial statements of Nomad Foods, adjusted primarily for share based payment expenses and related employer payroll taxes, non-operating M&A related costs, exceptional items and foreign currency translation charges/gains. Adjusted EBITDA is profit or loss for the period before taxation, net financing costs, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude, when they occur, the impacts of exited markets, acquisition purchase price adjustments and exceptional items such as restructuring charges, goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges and other unusual or non-recurring items. In addition, we exclude other adjustments such as the impact of share based payment expenses and related employer payroll taxes, and non-operating M&A related costs, because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs, can vary significantly in amount and frequency, and are unrelated to our underlying operating performance. The Company believes Adjusted EBITDA provides important comparability of underlying operating results, allowing investors and management to assess operating performance on a consistent basis. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to profit/(loss) for the period, determined in accordance with IFRS, as an indicator of the Company's operating performance. Adjusted Profit for the period is defined as profit for the period excluding, when they occur, the impacts of exited markets, acquisition purchase price adjustments and exceptional items such as restructuring charges, goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges, unissued preferred share dividends, as well as certain other items considered unusual or non-recurring in nature. In addition, we exclude other adjustments such as the impact of share based payment expenses and related employer payroll taxes, and non-operating M&A related costs, because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs, can vary significantly in amount and frequency, and are unrelated to our underlying operating performance. The Company believes Adjusted Profit after tax provides important comparability of underlying operating results, allowing investors and management to assess operating performance on a consistent basis. Adjusted EPS is defined as basic earnings per share excluding, when they occur, the impacts of exited markets, acquisition purchase price adjustments and exceptional items such as restructuring charges, goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges, as well as certain other items considered unusual or non-recurring in nature. In addition, we exclude other adjustments such as the impact of share based payment expenses and related employer payroll taxes, and non-operating M&A related costs, because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs, can vary significantly in amount and frequency, and are unrelated to our underlying operating performance. The Company believes Adjusted EPS provides important comparability of underlying operating results, allowing investors and management to assess operating performance on a consistent basis. Organic revenue growth/(decline) is an adjusted measurement of our operating results. The comparison for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 presented in this press release takes into consideration only those activities that were in effect during both time periods. Organic revenue growth/(decline) reflects reported revenue adjusted for currency translation and non-comparable trading items such as expansion, acquisitions, disposals, closures, trading day impacts or any other event that artificially impacts the comparability of our results period over period. Adjustments for currency translation are calculated by translating data of the current and comparative periods using a budget foreign exchange rate that is set once a year as part of the Company's internal annual forecast process. Adjusted Free Cash Flow – Adjusted free cash flow is the amount of cash generated from operating activities before cash flows related to exceptional items (as described above), non-operating M&A related costs and working capital movements on employer taxes associated with share based payment awards, but after capital expenditure (on property, plant and equipment and intangible assets), net interest paid, proceeds/(payments) on settlement of derivatives where hedge accounting is not applied and payments of lease liabilities. Adjusted free cash flow reflects cash flows that could be used for payment of dividends, repayment of debt or to fund acquisitions or other strategic objectives. Cash flow conversion is Adjusted Free Cash Flow as percentage of Adjusted Profit for the period. Adjusted and Organic non-IFRS financial information should be read in conjunction with the unaudited financial statements of Nomad Foods included in this press release as well as the historical financial statements of the Company previously filed with the SEC. Nomad Foods believe its non-IFRS financial measures provide an important additional measure with which to monitor and evaluate the Company's ongoing financial results, as well as to reflect its acquisitions. Nomad Foods' calculation of these financial measures may be different from the calculations used by other companies and comparability may therefore be limited. The Adjusted and Organic financial information presented herein is based upon certain assumptions that Nomad Foods believes to be reasonable and is presented for informational purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of any anticipated financial position or future results of operations that the Company will experience. You should not consider the Company's non-IFRS financial measures an alternative or substitute for the Company's reported results and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these results and information as they may not be representative of our actual or future results as a Company. Please see on pages 8 to 13, the non-IFRS reconciliation tables attached hereto and the schedules accompanying this release for an explanation and reconciliation of the Adjusted and Organic financial information to the most directly comparable IFRS measure. The Company is unable to reconcile, without unreasonable efforts, Organic Growth, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS guidance to the most directly comparable IFRS measure.   Nomad Foods Limited As Reported Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Profit or Loss (unaudited) Three months ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023 Three months ended June 30, 2024 Three months ended June 30, 2023 €m €m Revenue 753.1 745.1 Cost of sales (520.3) (535.0) Gross profit 232.8 210.1 Other operating expenses (119.3) (103.9) Exceptional items (12.4) (10.5) Operating profit 101.1 95.7 Finance income 18.0 1.9 Finance costs (31.4) (37.2) Net financing costs (13.4) (35.3) Profit before tax 87.7 60.4 Taxation (16.8) (11.2) Profit for the period 70.9 49.2 Basic and diluted earnings per share in € 0.43 0.28   Statements of Profit or Loss (unaudited) Six months ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023 Six months ended June 30, 2024 Six months ended June 30, 2023 €m €m Revenue 1,536.8 1,520.2 Cost of sales (1,093.1) (1,085.9) Gross profit 443.7 434.3 Other operating expenses (234.7) (218.4) Exceptional items (35.9) (40.6) Operating profit 173.1 175.3 Finance income 23.9 3.0 Finance costs (67.4) (67.3) Net financing costs (43.5) (64.3) Profit before tax 129.6 111.0 Taxation (24.2) (20.6) Profit for the period 105.4 90.4 Basic and diluted earnings per share in € 0.65 0.52   Nomad Foods Limited As Reported Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Financial Position As at June 30, 2024 (unaudited) and December 31, 2023 (audited) As at June 30, 2024 As at December 31, 2023  €m  €m Non-current assets Goodwill 2,104.2 2,105.0 Intangibles 2,469.6 2,468.2 Property, plant and equipment 562.5 563.7 Other non-current assets 7.3 7.1 Derivative financial instruments 1.7 0.7 Deferred tax assets 111.6 106.9 Total non-current assets 5,256.9 5,251.6 Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 327.7 412.9 Inventories 433.7 446.4 Trade and other receivables 345.1 263.4 Current tax receivable 42.7 40.7 Indemnification assets 0.5 0.5 Short-term investments 5.7 — Derivative financial instruments 6.7 1.2 Total current assets 1,162.1 1,165.1 Total assets 6,419.0 6,416.7 Current liabilities Trade and other payables 729.9 769.8 Current tax payable 202.2 189.5 Provisions 26.1 35.1 Loans and borrowings 24.7 21.4 Derivative financial instruments 11.5 12.2 Total current liabilities 994.4 1,028.0 Non-current liabilities Loans and borrowings 2,120.8 2,113.7 Employee benefits 145.2 158.3 Other non-current liabilities 0.5 0.5 Provisions 2.8 1.4 Derivative financial instruments 59.7 97.8 Deferred tax ...