Vintage Wine Estates Restates Earnings
-Vintage Wine Estates, Inc. (Nasdaq: VWE and VWEWW) said it will restate its previously issued consolidated financial statements for the first, second and third quarters of fiscal 2023, which ended Sept. 30, 2022, Dec. 31, 2022 and March 31, 2023, respectively. The adjustments resulted from a reassessment of technical accounting matters in the fiscal 2023 first, second and third quarters.
The restatements will delay filing of the Company’s fiscal 2023 10-K and the finalizing of amendments to the Company’s credit agreement. The Company is seeking to complete the credit agreement amendments within the next two weeks. The restated interim financials and fiscal 2023 10-K will be filed as soon as practical.
Jon Moramarco, Interim CEO, commented, “While frustrating, we believe these restatements and revisions, some of which date back to acquisition accounting in 2019, will provide greater clarity of our financial performance and improved comparability both looking back and as we move forward.”
He added, “We continue to work on our Five-Point Plan to advance through the transition period of fiscal 2024. We believe our focus on margin expansion through simplification and better execution, measurable cost reduction, disciplined cash management, monetization of assets to accelerate debt reduction and growing revenue in focused key brands will lead to improved financial performance and enable us to leverage our strong foundation to drive growth. We are excited that industry veteran Seth Kaufman will be joining us soon as President and CEO and look forward to his contributions to creating our go-forward strategy that will define our future path beyond this transition year.”
Fiscal 2023 Quarterly Restatements
Here are the expected impacts to the company's earliere financial statments:
Quarter ended Sept. 30, 2022: The recognition of a $10.7 million deferred gain through an adjustment to retained earnings. The deferred gain originated with a sale-leaseback transaction in 2019 and the recognition adjustment was required by the implementation of ASC 842 – Leases in July 2022.
Quarter ended Dec. 31, 2022: The classification of purchase price to specific property and equipment acquired in 2019 for the Laetitia sale in December of 2022 increased the loss on disposal by $3.5 million.
Quarter ended March 31, 2023: The reversal of $4.7 million in revenue and the related $3.5 million in gross profit for an uncollectable sale of bulk whiskey for which inventory was not transferred.