GURU Organic Energy Corp.

Welcome to the Guru Organic Energy third quarter 2024 results conference call and webcast being recorded today, September 12, 2024 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following management's presentation, there will be a question and answer session with financial analysts. Instructions will be provided at that time for you to queue up for questions. If anyone has any difficulties hearing the conference, Please press star followed by zero for operator assistance at any time. Guru's press release, MD&A, and financial statements are available in the investor section of its website and on CDAR+. During the call, the company may refer to certain non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations are available in its MD&A. Also note that all financial figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. I would also like to remind you that today's presentation may contain forward-looking statements about Guru's current and future plans, expectations and intentions, results, level of activity, performance, goals or achievements, or other future events or developments. As such, please take a moment to read the disclaimer on forward-looking statements on slide two of the presentation. I will now turn the call over to Carl Goyette, Guru's chief executive officer. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator. Bonjour à tous. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Q3 2024 earnings call. Joining me this morning is our CFO, Indy Seraf. Let's turn to slide five for those following on the webcam. This quarter, Guru continued to prioritize its return to profitability by maintaining strict cost controls, even in a challenging sales environment. Thanks to favorable market dynamics, and reduced input costs, our gross margin increased significantly to 55.4%, up from 51.2% in Q3 of 2023, allowing us to maintain stable gross profit despite a decline in revenue. These efforts have led us to a 50% reduction in our net loss over the last two years. While focusing on profitability, we faced challenges that impacted our net revenue this quarter, primarily due to reduced shipments and decreased convenience store traffic. However, year-to-date, our revenue and gross profits have grown by 6.9% and 11.6%, respectively. We continue to see growing demand for our products, particularly in the U.S. market, where sales increased by 74% year-over-year in the last nine months. We also achieved double-digit retail scandals in our key channels, including Amazon, Whole Foods, and our retail channels in Quebec. Turning to slide six. In Canada, we continue to build on our strong market presence, especially in Quebec. In this market, our latest innovations, Peach Mango Punch and Zero Wild Berry, have driven sales growth and increased our market share by more than one percentage point to 18.3% in units over the last nine months when considering untracked channels. However, the market was marked by challenges related to the timing and execution of retail promotions, which affected our overall sales performance. Despite this, our strategic focus on key urban centers remains critical to our growth strategy, and we are seeing positive results. For to support our growth and engage consumers in Quebec, we have launched special promotions in grocery stores and Costco. Starting tomorrow, four packs of fruit punch and peach mango punch will be available at a discounted price in most Quebec grocery stores, and 24 packs of Guru Original will be offered at $32.99 in main Quebec Costco locations. In Canada, we will soon conduct our first Costco Roadshow featuring our punchline in prime locations across the country. If successful, this could lead to new opportunities in this major sales channel. Turning to slide 7, let's discuss our performance in the U.S. market. Our U.S. operations continue to excel, with sales growing by 10.3% compared to the Q3 of 2023. The growth was fueled by our strong performance on Amazon, where glue remains the number one organic energy drink. We are very excited about the upcoming launch of our Zero Sugar line in the U.S., which will include three popular flavors, Wildberry, Wild Strawberry Watermelon, and Wild Ruby Red. This launch marks a significant milestone as we tap into the rapidly growing zero sugar segment, which now represents 50% of the $20 billion North American energy drink market. What sets Guru Zero apart is our commitment to offering a better for you energy drink experience with a zero sugar organic energy drink that contains no sucralose or aspartame, artificial sweeteners often associated with potential health risks. Moreover, Guru Zero provides a metabolism boost combining natural caffeine and EGCG polyphenols, making it the only zero organic energy drink on the market that aligns with the health conscious demands of today's consumers. We are confident that this launch will further strengthen our position in the U.S. market now and in the future. Our ongoing efforts to optimize online sales have been validated by the significant momentum we experienced during the Prime Day event on Amazon.com, where we achieved a remarkable 76% growth over last year's Prime Day performance. This success reinforces our confidence in the upcoming zero launch and the continued growth of our U.S. operations. Looking ahead, we see significant opportunities to further expand our success in U.S. urban centers, our efforts in California have already begun yielding returns, particularly in Southern California. This focused approach will allow us to leverage our experience in California to drive growth in additional key urban areas where our target consumers live. I will now turn the call over to NG Tarrasque, our CFO, to discuss our financial results in more detail. NG, over to you.

Thank you, Carl, and good morning, everyone. Let's turn to slide 9. Net revenue for Q3 2024 was $7.9 million, down from $8.9 million in Q3 2023, reflecting challenges in the Canadian market. Gross profit stood at $4.4 million, with a gross margin of 55.4%, an improvement from 51.2% last year. This margin improvement was given by better pricing dynamics and reduced input costs. allowing us to maintain a stable gross profit despite this revenue decline. SG&E Expenditure decreased by 13.2% to $7 million from $8.1 million in Q3 2023, primarily due to streamlined operations and lower marketing spend. These cost control measures helped us narrow our net loss to $2.2 million this quarter, an improvement of 25.8% versus Q3 2023. As of July 31st, 2024, Guru has $37.7 million in cash, cash equivalent, and short-term investments along with unused credit facilities. This solid foundation provides us with the resources needed to strategically invest in growth opportunities while staying focused on our goal of returning to profitability. Carl, back to you for concluding remarks.