On August 3rd Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (APRN) posted results for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 ending June 30th. For the period, the company posted a loss of $18.6 million on revenue of $124.0 million with an EPS of $(0.98).  For the corresponding second quarter of fiscal 2020, the company posted a profit of $1.1 million on revenue of $131.0 million with an EPS of $0.08.  It must be noted that the company benefited from COVID restrictions and home cooking during the second quarter of fiscal 2020. 

In reviewing operating parameters, between the second quarter of 2020 and the most recent quarter, orders decreased from 2.2 million to 2.0 million and the number of active customers declined from 391,000 to 375,000.  Average order value and average revenue per customer were almost equivalent.

In commenting on the quarter, CEO Linda Findley Kozlowski stated, “Blue Apron’s solid second quarter results reflect, in part the benefit of the product road map focused on added variety, flexibility and choice we established two years ago.  Our average order value, orders per customer and average revenue per customer continue to be at a record or near record quarterly levels in the second quarter even as consumers increasingly resumed activities they enjoyed pre-pandemic.”  These comments are patently inconsistent with fundemental data.

Blue Apron Holdings has a market capitalization of $96.6 million and carries long-term debt of $75.7 million.  APRN has traded in a 52-week range of $3.54 to $12.35 with a 50-day moving average of $4.13.  Approximately 15 percent of the float was short as of July 15th.  On a trailing 12-month basis all metrics are negative. Operating margin is -6.8 percent and profit margin -8.5 percent.  The company has posted a return on assets of -10.1 percent and on equity, -82.4 percent.

Blue Apron could be regarded as a bellwether for the packaged-meal kit segment of food distribution.