On May 6th, Blue Apron Holdings (APRN) announced results for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 ending March 31st. The company lost $15.7 million on revenue of $129.7 million with a negative EPS of $(0.88). Comparable values for Q1 2020 were a net loss of $20.2 million on net revenue of $101.9 million with a negative EPS of $(1.51). The company posted total assets of $201.7 million and carries long-term debt of $28.1 million. For the most recent quarter, orders increased to 2.1 million with 391,000 active customers. Average revenue per customer was $331 over 5.4 orders per quarter valued at a unit tab of $61.63.
In commenting on the quarter, CEO Linda Kozlowski stated, "the first quarter bought another period of year-over-year improvements in all of our key customer metrics in particular, strong average order value and orders per customer drove a 22 percent improvement in average revenue per customer to an all-time quarterly record". She added, "we have focused on attracting and retaining high-value customers through ongoing production innovation and added flexibility as well as more efficient marketing". All well and good but the stark reality is that Blue Apron has yet to post a profit in any quarter since their IPO and it is doubtful given the recovery of the economy and restoration of dining out whether this company can ever justify its potential.
Blue Apron Holdings has a market capitalization of $79.4 million and has traded over a fifty-two-week period in a range of $4.13 to $15.0 with a 50-day moving average of $6.18. On a trailing twelve-month basis operating margin is -7.4 percent and profit margin -10 percent. The company return on assets is -8.8 percent and on equity -70 percent. As of April 15th 14 percent of the float was short.