CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted inthe United States of America . Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Management develops, and changes periodically, these estimates and assumptions based on historical experience and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Management considers the following accounting policies to be the most critical in preparing our consolidated financial statements. These critical accounting policies have been discussed with our Audit Committee, as appropriate.
Revenue Recognition: Our revenue is derived primarily from point of sale transactions executed over an ecommerce platform for weight loss, weight management, and other consumable health and nutritional products. Revenue is
25 Table of Contents recognized upon receipt by customer and net of discounts, rebates, promotional adjustments, price adjustments, allocated consideration to loyalty programs and estimated returns.
Revenue is recognized when control of the promised products is transferred to our clients, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for transferring those products. When determining whether the customer has obtained control of the products, we consider any future performance obligations.
A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer, and is the unit of account in ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. A contract's transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. Our contracts have performance obligations to fulfill and deliver products from the point of sale transaction along with the related customer reward programs. Our performance obligations are satisfied at a point in time. Revenue from products transferred to clients at a point in time accounted for substantially all of our revenue for the years endedDecember 31, 2019 and 2018. Revenue on these contracts is recognized when the obligations under the terms of the contract with our customer are satisfied. Generally, this occurs with the transfer of control upon receipt of products by our clients. Any consideration received prior to the fulfillment of the Company performance obligation is deferred and recognized as a liability. Our return policy allows for customer returns within 30 days of purchase and upon our authorization. We adjust revenues for the products expected to be returned and a liability is recognized for expected refunds to clients. We estimate expected returns based on historical levels and project this experience into the future. Our sales contracts may give clients the option to purchase additional products priced at a discount. Options to acquire additional products at a discount can come in many forms, such as customer reward programs and incentive offerings including pricing arrangements, and promotions. We reduce the transaction price for certain customer reward programs and incentive offerings including pricing arrangements, promotions, incentives that represent variable consideration and separate performance obligations. The Company accounts for sales rewards as a separate performance obligation of the transactions, and therefore allocates consideration between the initial sale of products and the customer reward program and incentive offering. Amounts billed to clients for shipping and handling activities are treated as a promised service performance obligation and are recorded in revenue in our Consolidated Statements of Income upon fulfillment of the performance obligation. Shipping and handling costs incurred by the Company for the delivery of products to clients are considered a cost to fulfill the contract and are included in cost of sales in our Consolidated Statements of Income. We expense sales commissions and credit card fees during the period in which the corresponding revenue is earned. These costs are deferred along with the revenues for goods that are in transit and not received by clients by period end. These costs are recorded in selling, general and administrative expense in our Consolidated Statements of Income. Impairment of Long-lived Fixed Assets: We continually assess the impairment of long-lived assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Judgments regarding the existence of impairment indicators are based on legal factors, market conditions and our operating performance. Future events could cause us to conclude that impairment indicators exist and the carrying values of fixed and long-lived assets may be impaired. Any resulting impairment loss would be limited to the value of net fixed and long-lived assets. Income Taxes: The benefit of a tax position is recognized in the consolidated financial statements in the period during which, based on all available evidence, management believes it is more-likely-than-not that the position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of appeals or litigation processes, if any. Tax positions taken are not offset or aggregated with other positions. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold are measured as the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement with the applicable taxing authority. The portion of the benefits associated with tax positions taken that exceeds the amount measured as 26
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described above is reflected as a liability for unrecognized tax benefits in our Consolidated Balance Sheets along with any associated interest and penalties that would be payable to the taxing authorities upon examination. We evaluated our tax positions and determined that we did not have any material uncertain tax positions. Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties accrued on uncertain tax positions as part of income tax expense. For the years endedDecember 31, 2019 , 2018 and 2017, no material estimated interest or penalties were recognized for the uncertainty of certain tax positions. We file income tax returns inthe United States , and various states and foreign jurisdictions. We are generally no longer subject toUnited States federal, state and local income tax examinations by tax authorities for the years before 2016. Deferred tax assets are recognized for deductible temporary differences and deferred tax liabilities are recognized for taxable temporary differences. Temporary differences are the differences between the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted for the effects of changes in tax laws and rates on the date of enactment. Leases: The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception and categorizes leases with contractual terms longer than twelve months as either operating or finance. All the Company's leases are operating leases. The right-of-use ("ROU") assets represent the Company's right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and lease liabilities represent an obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of the Company's leases do not provide an implicit interest rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The ROU asset also consists of any prepaid lease payments and lease incentives received. The lease terms used to calculate the ROU asset and related lease liability include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Lease expense for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term as an operating expense.
BACKGROUND
Medifast is the company behind one of the fastest-growing health and wellness communities called OPTAVIA®, which offers Lifelong Transformation, One Healthy Habit at a Time®. Reflecting the success of its approach to health and wellness for its clients,Medifast has consistently grown revenue ahead of peers and competitors. Of equal importance, our business model is expected to deliver reliable growth year after year.Medifast has redefined direct selling by combining the best aspects of the model, while eliminating those dimensions that have typically challenged other companies.Medifast is often compared to diet and weight loss-only companies or to multi-level marketing companies, but our model is very different. The Company supports clients through independent OPTAVIA Coaches, majority of whom were clients first. Our product sales accounted for 98% of our revenues in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. We review and analyze a number of key operating and financial metrics to manage our business, including the number of active earning OPTAVIA Coaches and average quarterly revenue generated per OPTAVIA Coach in the OPTAVIA business unit. As we previously disclosed, global expansion is an important component of our long-term growth strategy. InJuly 2019 , we commenced our international operations, entering into theAsia Pacific markets ofHong Kong andSingapore . Our decision to enter these markets was based on industry market research that reflects a dynamic shift in how health care is being prioritized and consumed in those countries. Our OPTAVIA business unit accounted for approximately 96.4%, 92.9%, and 85.1% of our revenues in 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. InMarch 2018 , we announced a change in how our business is managed, operating performance is reviewed and resources are allocated. As a result, beginning in the first quarter of 2018, we changed how we report financial performance to align with changes in the way we now manage the business and now operate and report as a single sales segment, OPTAVIA. We previously disclosed entity-wide financial information for multiple segments (e.g. OPTAVIA, Medifast Direct, Franchise Medifast Weight Control Centers and Medifast Wholesale). Although we have 27
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one reportable segment, we continue to market our products and programs through our Medifast Direct ecommerce platform and ourFranchise Medifast Weight Control Center channels.
CONSOLIDATED RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - 2019 COMPARED TO 2018
The following table reflects our consolidated statements of income for the years
ended
2019 2018 $ Change % Change Revenue$ 713,672 $ 501,003 $ 212,669 42.4% Cost of sales 176,814 121,104 (55,710) -46.0% Gross Profit 536,858 379,899 156,959 41.3% Selling, general, and administrative 445,819 310,836 (134,983) -43.4% Income from operations 91,039 69,063 21,976 31.8% Other income Interest income, net 1,295 1,306 (11) -0.8% Other income 29 179 (150) -83.8% 1,324 1,485 (161) -10.8% Income from operations before income taxes 92,363 70,548 21,815 30.9% Provision for income taxes 14,447 14,759 312 2.1% Net income$ 77,916 $ 55,789 $ 22,127 39.7% % of revenue Gross Profit 75.2% 75.8%
Selling, general, and administrative costs 62.5% 62.0% Income from Operations
12.8% 13.8%
Income from Operations before income taxes 12.9% 14.1%
Revenue: Revenue increased$212.7 million , or 42.4%, to$713.7 million in 2019 from$501.0 million in 2018. The total number of active earning OPTAVIA Coaches for the three months endedDecember 31, 2019 increased to 31,800 from 24,100 for the corresponding period in 2018, an increase of 32.0%. The average revenue per active earning OPTAVIA Coach decreased 9.2% to$5,229 for the three months endedDecember 31, 2019 from$5,756 for the three months endedDecember 31, 2018 . This year-over-year growth in revenue resulted from business initiatives accelerating new OPTAVIA Coach conversions, increased OPTAVIA client acquisition rates and the transition of clients to higher priced OPTAVIA branded products.
Costs of Sales: Cost of sales increased
Gross Profit: In 2019, gross profit increased$157.0 million , or 41.3%, to$536.9 million from$379.9 million in 2018. As a percentage of sales, gross profit decreased 60 basis points to 75.2% for 2019 from 75.8% for 2018. The decrease in gross profit as a percentage of sales was primarily driven by higher shipping expenses and higher product returns related to disruptions to normal business operations during the year. 28
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Selling, General and Administrative: Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses were$445.8 million in 2019, an increase of$135.0 million , or 43.4%, as compared to$310.8 million in 2018. As a percentage of sales, SG&A expenses were 62.5% for 2019 as compared to 62.0% for 2018. The$135.0 million increase was primarily a result of higher variable costs such as OPTAVIA commission expense and credit card processing fees as a result of higher sales. In addition, SG&A expenses increased as a result of increased consulting costs related to technology projects, along with higher salaries and benefits related expenses. SG&A expenses included$3.3 million of cost incurred in Q3 2019, which were related to a highly organized automated scheme using stolen credit cards from outside the Company's systems, to transact business on the Company's ecommerce sites. Each of these transactions was pre-approved, prior to shipment, by the payment processor and subsequently reported to the Company as utilizing a stolen card. These expenses were$2.9 million higher than the corresponding period in 2018 and were primarily comprised of higher bad debt and credit card fees. Bad debt levels have returned to historical levels throughout the fourth quarter of 2019 as a result of software and new processes implemented in the third quarter of 2019. SG&A expenses included research and development costs of$2.7 million and$2.2 million for 2019 and 2018, respectively. OPTAVIA commission expense, which is a variable expense, increased$95.3 million , or 47.8%, to$294.7 million in 2019 from$199.4 million in 2018. The increase was primarily the result of increased product sales. As OPTAVIA revenue increased as a portion of the Company's total sales mix, the commission rate as a percentage of revenue increased 150 basis points to 41.3% in 2019 compared to 39.8% in 2018. This is an outcome of the success we are experiencing with our growing OPTAVIA IntegratedCoach Model . Income from operations: Income from operations in 2019 increased$21.9 million to$91.0 million from$69.1 million in 2018 primarily as a result of increased gross profits partially offset by increased SG&A expenses. Income from operations as a percentage of sales decreased to 12.8% for 2019 as compared to 13.8% for 2018.
Other income: In 2019 and 2018, other income, including interest income, was
Income from operations before income taxes: Income from operations before income
taxes was
Provision for income taxes: For 2019, the Company recorded$14.4 million in income tax expense, an effective tax rate of 15.6%, as compared to$14.8 million in income tax expense and an effective tax rate of 20.9%, for 2018. The decrease in the effective tax rate for 2019 as compared to 2018 was primarily driven by an increase in the share-based compensation benefit of 4.3%. The Company anticipates a full year tax rate of 22.5% to 23.5% in 2020. Net income: Net income was$77.9 million , or$6.43 per diluted share, in 2019 as compared to$55.8 million , or$4.62 per diluted share, in 2018. The period-over-period changes were driven by the factors described above in the explanations from operations. Additionally, refer to Item 7: Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year endedDecember 31, 2018 for management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the fiscal year 2018 compared to fiscal year 2017.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company had stockholders' equity of$104.8 million and working capital of$74.8 million atDecember 31, 2019 compared with$109.1 million and$85.2 million atDecember 31, 2018 . The$4.3 million net decrease in stockholder's equity reflects$77.9 million in net income for 2019 offset by$33.1 million spent on repurchases of common stock, and$40.0 million for declared dividends paid to our common stock holders as well as the other equity transactions described in the Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity included in our consolidated financial statements included in this report. The Company declared a dividend of$1.13 per share onDecember 3, 2019 , to stockholders of record as ofDecember 27, 2019 that was paid onFebruary 6, 2020 . While we intend to continue the dividend program and believe we will have sufficient liquidity to do so, we can provide no assurance we will be able
to continue the 29 Table of Contents
declaration and payment of dividends. The Company's cash, cash equivalents and
investment securities decreased from
Net cash provided by operating activities increased
Net cash used in investing activities was$6.3 million for 2019 as compared to$1.2 million for 2018. This year-over-year change resulted primarily from an increase in cash used in capital expenditures for 2019 as compared to 2018. Net cash used in financing activities increased$29.0 million to$82.3 million for 2019 from$53.3 million for 2018. This increase was primarily due to increases in the net shares repurchased for employee taxes, cash dividends paid to stockholders, and stock repurchases for 2019 from 2018. In pursuing its business strategy, the Company may require additional cash for operating and investing activities. The Company expects future cash requirements, including its expansion of its operations into theAsia Pacific Markets ofHong Kong andSingapore , to be funded from operating cash flow.
The Company evaluates acquisitions from time to time.
Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments
The Company had the following contractual obligations as ofDecember 31, 2019 (in thousands): 2020 2021 - 2022 2023 - 2024 Thereafter Total Operating leases (a)$ 3,636 $ 6,824 $ 2,899 $ 1,452 $ 14,811 Unconditional purchase obligations (b) 2,403 2,018 424 - 4,845 Total contractual obligations$ 6,039 $ 8,842 $
3,323
(a) The Company has operating leases in place for leased corporate offices,
warehouses, and certain equipment.
(b) The Company has unconditional purchase obligations primarily for outsourced
information technology and Coach events.
INFLATION
To date, inflation has not had a material effect on the Company's business.
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