HF Foods Group Inc

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for HF Foods Group Inc. (“HF Foods”, the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “will” or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. We derive many of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based on many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, or cautionary statements, include without limitation:

•Low margins in the foodservice distribution industry and periods of significant or prolonged inflation or deflation;

•Qualified labor shortages;

•Unfavorable macroeconomic conditions in the United States;

•Competition in the foodservice distribution industry particularly the entry of new competitors into the Chinese/Asian restaurant supply market niche;

•Increases in fuel costs;

•Disruption of relationships with vendors and increases in product prices;

•Dependency on the timely delivery of products from vendors, particularly the prolonged diminution of global supply chains;

•The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or other pandemics;

•The steps taken by the governments where our suppliers are located, including the People’s Republic of China, to address the COVID-19 pandemic or other pandemics;

•Disruption of relationships with or loss of customers;

•Changes in consumer eating and dining out habits;

•Related party transactions and possible conflicts of interests;

•Related parties and variable interest entities consolidation;

•Failure to protect our intellectual property rights;

•Our ability to renew or replace our current warehouse leases on favorable terms, or terminations prior to expiration of stated terms;

•Failure to retain our senior management and other key personnel, particularly our CEO, President and COO, CFO and General Counsel and CCO;

•Our ability to attract, train and retain employees;

•Changes in and enforcement of immigration laws;

•Failure to comply with various federal, state and local rules and regulations regarding food safety, sanitation, transportation, minimum wage, overtime and other health and safety laws;

•Product recalls, voluntary recalls or withdrawals if any of the products we distribute are alleged to have caused illness, been mislabeled, misbranded or adulterated or to otherwise have violated applicable government regulations;

•Costs to comply with environmental laws and regulations;

•Litigation, regulatory investigations and potential enforcement actions;

•Increases in commodity prices;

•U.S. government tariffs on products imported into the United States, particularly from China;

•Severe weather, natural disasters and adverse climate change;

•Unfavorable geopolitical conditions;

•Any cyber security incident, other technology disruption or delay in implementing our information technology systems;

•Current indebtedness affecting our liquidity and ability of future financing;

•Failure to acquire other distributors or wholesalers and enlarge our customer base;

•Scarcity of and competition for acquisition opportunities;

•Our ability to obtain acquisition financing;

•The impact of non-cash charges relating to the amortization of intangible assets related to material acquisitions;

•Our ability to identify acquisition candidates;

•Increases in debt in order to successfully implement our acquisition strategy;

•Difficulties in integrating operations, personnel, and assets of acquired businesses that may disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value, and adversely affect our operating results;

•The impact on the price and demand for our common stock resulting from the relative illiquidity of the market for our common stock;

•Significant stockholders’ ability to significantly influence the Company; and

•The impact of state anti-takeover laws and related provisions in our governance documents.

We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all of the forward-looking statements made in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements as well as other cautionary statements that are made from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and public communications. We caution you that the important factors referenced above may not contain all of the risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that are important to you. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC.

In addition, we cannot assure you that we will realize the results or developments we expect or anticipate or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect us or our operations in the way we expect. The forward-looking statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are made only as of the date hereof. Except as otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Overview

We market and distribute Asian specialty food products, seafood, fresh produce, frozen and dry food, and non-food products primarily to Asian restaurants and other foodservice customers throughout the United States. HF Foods was formed through a merger between two complementary market leaders, HF Foods Group Inc. and B&R Global. In 2022, HF Foods acquired two frozen seafood suppliers, expanding its distribution network in Illinois, Texas and along the eastern seaboard, from Massachusetts to Florida, as well as Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

We aim to supply the increasing demand for Asian American restaurant cuisine, leveraging our nationwide network of distribution centers and our strong relations with growers and suppliers of fresh, high-quality specialty restaurant food products and supplies in the US, South America, and China. Capitalizing on our deep understanding of the Chinese culture, we have become a trusted partner serving Asian restaurants and other foodservice customers throughout the United States, providing sales and service support to customers who mainly converse in Mandarin or other Chinese dialects. We are dedicated to serving the vast array of Asian restaurants in need of high-quality and specialized food ingredients at competitive prices.

Transformation Plan

To position the business for long-term success, we have initiated a comprehensive, operational transformation plan in an effort to drive growth and cost savings. Our transformation is focused on four key areas, each of which we expect will positively impact future growth or cost savings. The components of our transformation are as follows:

•Centralized Purchasing: We began the roll out of our centralized purchasing program with seafood products and have yielded significant positive results with respect to margin expansion for the product category. We are now focusing on expanding the program to other categories.

•Fleet and Transportation: We have established a national fleet maintenance program. Within this, we plan to define new truck specifications, initiate a replacement program for 50% of our current fleet, implement a national fuel savings program to maximize efficiency, and outsource domestic inbound freight logistics to a third-party partner to adopt a cohesive national approach to its supply chain. This is expected to deliver substantial improvements to our transportation system.

•Digital Transformation: We will be implementing a modern ERP solution across all of our distribution centers. This is expected to deliver enhanced operational efficiency and responsiveness, streamlined processes, and greater data driven decision-making.

•Facility Upgrades: We will be reorganizing and upgrading our facilities and distribution centers to efficiently streamline costs, and to capitalize on cross-selling opportunities with both new and existing customers.

Financial Overview

NM Not meaningful

For additional information on our non-GAAP financial measures, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, see the section entitled “EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA” below.

How to Assess HF Foods’ Performance

In assessing our performance, we consider a variety of performance and financial measures, including principal growth in net revenue, gross profit, distribution, selling and administrative expenses, as well as certain non-GAAP financial measures, including EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. The key measures that we use to evaluate the performance of our business are set forth below:

Net Revenue

Net revenue is equal to gross sales minus sales returns, sales incentives that we offer to our customers, such as rebates and discounts that are offsets to gross sales; and certain other adjustments. Our net revenue is driven by changes in number of customers and average customer order amount, product inflation that is reflected in the pricing of our products and mix of products sold.

Gross Profit

Gross profit is equal to net revenue minus cost of revenue. Cost of revenue primarily includes inventory costs (net of supplier consideration), inbound freight, customs clearance fees and other miscellaneous expenses. Cost of revenue generally changes as we incur higher or lower costs from suppliers and as the customer and product mix changes.

Distribution, Selling and Administrative Expenses

Distribution, selling and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, stock-based compensation and benefits for employees and contract laborers, trucking and fuel expenses, utilities, maintenance and repair expenses, insurance expenses, depreciation and amortization expenses, selling and marketing expenses, professional fees and other operating expenses.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

Discussion of our results includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, including EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, that we believe provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing our financial performance with other companies in the same industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures to investors. We present EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA in order to provide supplemental information that we consider relevant for the readers of our condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report, and such information is not meant to replace or supersede GAAP measures.

Management uses EBITDA to measure operating performance, defined as net income before interest expense, interest income, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization. In addition, management uses Adjusted EBITDA, defined as net income before interest expense, interest income, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization, further adjusted to exclude certain unusual, non-cash, or non-recurring expenses. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA is less susceptible to variances in actual performance resulting from non-recurring expenses, and other non-cash charges and is more reflective of other factors that affect our operating performance.

The definition of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may not be the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies in the industry. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not defined under GAAP and are subject to important limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of HF Foods’ results as reported under GAAP. For example, Adjusted EBITDA:

•excludes certain tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available;

•does not reflect any cash capital expenditure requirements for the assets being depreciated and amortized that may have to be replaced in the future;

•does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs; and

•does not reflect the significant interest expense, or the cash requirements, necessary to service our debt.

For additional information on EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation to their most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures, see “Results of Operations — EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA” below.