Willamette Valley Vineyards Posts a Profit for 2021

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Mar 29, 2022, 19:01 ET

SALEM, Ore., March 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc. (NASDAQ: WVVI) (the "Company"), a leading Oregon producer of Pinot Noir, generated income per common share after preferred dividends of $0.20 and $0.46 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, a decrease of $0.26, or 56.6%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 over the prior year period.

The Company had net sales revenues of $31,786,864 and $27,314,852 for the years December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, an increase of $4,472,012 or 16.4%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 over the prior year period primarily as a result of an increase in revenue from direct sales of $2,739,589 or 26.0% in 2021 compared to 2020, combined with an increase in revenue from sales to distributors of $1,732,423 or 10.3% in 2021 compared to 2020.

Gross profit was $18,665,673 and $16,729,776 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, an increase of $1,935,897, or 11.6%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 over the prior year period. This increase was generally driven by an increase in sales revenues partially offset by a higher cost of sales.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $14,975,654 and $11,728,003 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, an increase of $3,247,651, or 27.7%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 over the prior year period.

Net income was $2,445,463 and $3,394,996, for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, a decrease of $949,533, or 28.0%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 over the prior year period.

Jim Bernau, Founder and CEO of the winery said "Our largest volume products are continuing to experience high demand such that we are now very tight on inventories and are allocating some key wines. We believe this tight inventory situation will limit our revenue growth until such time as we can rebuild our wine inventories. We are also expecting to experience some margin reductions in 2022, mostly as a result of certain supply logistical delays and much higher packaging prices. We believe that our higher SG&A costs in 2021 are enabling us to build a stronger sales and administrative foundation to support our growth, which we believe will lead to greater profitability in the long term."

For a complete discussion of the Company's financial condition and operating results, see our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR.

Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc. is headquartered at its Estate Vineyard near Salem, Oregon. The Company's common stock is traded on NASDAQ (WVVI).

The Annual Report on Form 10-K, including any information incorporated by reference, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, referred to as the "Securities Act", and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, referred to as the "Exchange Act". These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business, and beliefs and assumptions made by management. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates", "predicts," "potential," "should," or "will" or the negative thereof and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including, but not limited to: availability of financing for growth, availability of adequate supply of high quality grapes, successful performance of internal operations, impact of competition, changes in wine broker or distributor relations or performance, impact of possible adverse weather conditions, impact of reduction in grape quality or supply due to disease or smoke from forest fires, changes in consumer spending, the reduction in consumer demand for premium wines, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the policies of United States federal, state and local governments in response to such pandemic. In addition, such statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates, and general domestic economic conditions.

Many of these risks as well as other risks that may have a material adverse impact on our operations and business, are identified in Item 1A "Risk Factors" in the Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The following is the Company's Statement of Income for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020:

			Twelve months ended
			December 31,
			2021	2020

SALES, NET			$ 31,786,864	$ 27,314,852
COST OF SALES			13,121,191	10,585,076

GROSS PROFIT			18,665,673	16,729,776

OPERATING EXPENSES:
	Sales and marketing		9,603,723	7,458,139
	General and administrative		5,371,931	4,269,864
		Total operating expenses	14,975,654	11,728,003

INCOME FROM OPERATIONS			3,690,019	5,001,773

OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)
	Interest income		12,412	21,022
	Interest expense		(391,272)	(414,061)
	Other income, net		155,183	165,916

INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES			3,466,342	4,774,650

INCOME TAX PROVISION			(1,020,879)	(1,379,654)

NET INCOME			2,445,463	3,394,996

Preferred stock dividends			(1,444,283)	(1,116,378)

INCOME APPLICABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS			$ 1,001,180	$ 2,278,618

Earnings per common share after preferred dividends,
	basic and diluted		$ 0.20	$ 0.46

Weighted-average number of
	common shares outstanding		4,964,529	4,964,529