Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to DAVIDsTEA's fourth quarter and full year results webcast for fiscal 2025. Today's webcast is being recorded and is in listen only mode. Before we get started, I would like to remind you of the company's safe harbor language. This webcast includes forward-looking statements about expectations for the performance of the business in the coming quarter and year. Each forward-looking statement contained in this webcast is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements. Additional information regarding these factors appears under the heading Risk Factors and Uncertainties in the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, the MD&A, which was filed with Canadian regulatory authorities and is available on www.sedarplus.ca.
The forward-looking statements in this discussion speak only as of today's date, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. If any non-IFRS financial measure is used during this webcast, reconciliation to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure will be detailed in the MD&A. As a reminder, all dollar amounts referred to are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. I would like to turn the call over to Sarah Segal, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Brand Officer of DAVIDsTEA.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Fiscal 2025 results reflect a fundamental reset in our business, with a return to profitability on an IFRS basis, driven by disciplined execution, leaner cost structure, stronger margins, and a retail store-led omni-channel model. Net income reached CAD 2.9 million on consolidated revenue of CAD 61 million in 2025. Alongside IFRS profitability, we are pleased to report that the retail store sales increased 10.4% year-over-year, while comparable store sales improved 6.8%. In the revenue-intensive fourth quarter, the leverage in our operating model was even more apparent. We generated net income of CAD 5.3 million on revenue of CAD 23.5 million or 22.4% of sales.
Similarly, retail store sales and comparable store sales grew 11.9% and 6.6% respectively. These data points are strong indicators that our retail store-driven growth strategy is performing as intended. Looking ahead, our plan is clear. Retail is a key discovery element in our brand experience. Our omni-channel growth will be fueled by our experiential retail model. We believe the Canadian market can support a meaningfully larger DAVIDsTEA footprint. Recall that prior to the pandemic, we had over 190 stores in Canada and that the majority were profitable. Our near-term objective is to double our current store count, and our analysis indicates that the incremental free cash flow from new stores will make the expansion self-funding beyond the initial phase.
Each new store builds DAVIDsTEA's brand awareness in its market and drives e-commerce and wholesale channel sales, creating a compounding effect as our footprint grows. We have ambitious plans for retail store growth in 2026. Following the opening of a new store at Laurier Québec Mall in December 2025, we intend to roll out four additional stores across Canada in 2026. We are targeting two new store openings in the Greater Toronto area for the first half of the fiscal year, one store at the Oshawa Centre and another at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga. In the second half, we plan to expand in Western Canada at the Southgate Centre in Edmonton and at the Metropolis at Metrotown Mall in Vancouver, B.C. These high traffic locations are expected to generate strong unit level economics and build on past performance in these areas.
Our typical new store is approximately 750 sq ft with budgeted capital expenditures of CAD 400,000-CAD 475,000. Based on the performance of our existing store portfolio, we are targeting annual sales of CAD 1.2 million-CAD 1.4 million per location with a four-wall contribution margin of approximately 25%, which implies a payback period of 15-18 months. Each new store also reinforces our omni-channel growth model, serving as a brand billboard and demand driver across all channels. Once completed, these new stores will raise our store count to 25 locations by the end of the fiscal year. These new retail stores are being financed by a CAD 3 million private placement completed in November 2025 through the issuance of 3.3 million units at CAD 0.90 per unit.
Each unit includes one common share and one half of a warrant exercisable at CAD 1.25 in year one and CAD 1.50 in year two, providing an additional source of capital should the pace of our store openings require it. On a fully diluted basis, including warrants, total shares outstanding would be approximately 29 million. We are confident that the value created by our store expansion plan will more than offset the dilutive impact of this financing. Turning to online sales, the trade conflict between the U.S. and Canada negatively impacted U.S. revenue levels during the past year. E-commerce sales decreased 7.6% in 2025, driven primarily by an 18.4% decline in U.S. sales as trade tensions and tariff-related headwinds weighed on cross-border volumes throughout the year.
Following the U.S. government's decision to eliminate the de minimis trade exemption, which allowed goods under $800 to enter the country without paying duties or taxes, shipping orders from Canada into the United States became more complex and costly. The resulting customs friction created significant delays, unpredictable deliveries, and a diminished consumer experience that contributed to a decline in U.S. sales. To align ourselves with new trade realities and build for long-term growth in the U.S. market, we began fulfilling U.S. e-commerce orders in late March through a third-party logistics partner in Chicago. This fulfillment platform in Chicago, which complements our warehouse and logistics operations in Montreal, brings inventory closer to U.S. customers, supports improved service levels, and strengthens the company's ability to grow profitably south of the border.
Supported by a centrally located fulfillment center in the U.S., a curated assortment of SKUs that can be shipped at a lower cost and an enhanced customer experience, we anticipate U.S. sales will gradually recover in the second half of fiscal 2026, based on a positive experience so far. In terms of wholesale channel sales, revenues decreased 8.4% in 2025, primarily reflecting the timing of replenishment orders as the initial stocking associated with our convenience store expansion was substantially completed in fiscal 2024. Our Tea-2-Go program currently reaches over 1,500 convenience stores, locations across Canada, and we continue to evaluate opportunities to expand our wholesale presence at strategic locations. Turning to our market opportunity, specialty tea is the fastest-growing segment within the multi-billion-dollar global tea market, with addressable markets expanding at mid-single-digit rates annually.
As consumers continue to shift towards health, wellness, and functional beverages, DAVIDsTEA is well-positioned to benefit from these tailwinds. Matcha continues to be a meaningful growth driver for DAVIDsTEA. With more than 30 custom-blended flavors sourced from established supply partners in premium Japanese growing regions, our matcha portfolio is one of the broadest in the Canadian specialty tea market and positions us well to capture the ongoing consumer shift towards functional wellness beverages, including organic, ceremonial grade, and organic natural flavored drink mixes, taking advantage of demand tailwinds to grow this category. We have an exciting product pipeline for fiscal 2026, including new seasonal collections and innovations in functional tea formats that we look forward to sharing with our customers in the months ahead.
In summary, DAVIDsTEA fundamentally reset its business model in fiscal 2025 through revenue-driven and cost control measures to achieve IFRS profitability. Both retail store sales and comparable store sales improved meaningfully year-over-year, demonstrating our store-led omni-channel growth strategy is headed in the right direction. We recently established a fulfillment center in Chicago to mitigate the elimination of the de minimis trade exemption and improve online customer experience and sales in the U.S. We have plans to open four new stores across Canada in fiscal 2026, raising our store count to 25, with each location targeting CAD 1.2 million-CAD 1.4 million in annual sales at a 24% four-wall contribution margin and 15-18-month payback on invested capital. We expect these openings to also create a spillover effect on online and wholesale channel sales.
Our product portfolio, anchored by the broadest matcha assortment in the Canadian specialty tea market, provides DAVIDsTEA with a differentiated position in the growing functional wellness beverage category. Finally, I would like to thank our employees whose dedication made our return to IFRS profitability in 2025 possible. As we expand into new markets, we look forward to welcoming new team members and creating opportunities for our existing employees to continue to grow with us. I will now turn the webcast over to Frank Zitella, President, Chief Financial and Operating Officer of DAVIDsTEA.
Thank you, Sarah. Good morning, everyone. Fiscal 2025 highlighted a meaningful improvement in the underlying business model with net income of CAD 2.9 million, Adjusted EBITDA of CAD 7.6 million or 12.4% of sales, working capital of CAD 17.7 million, and a cash position of CAD 16.5 million. Free cash flow for the year was CAD 1 million, reflecting an intentional buildup of inventory and the timing of supplier payments as we position the business for a return to revenue growth. We also drew CAD 2.7 million under a revenue-linked financing arrangement to support working capital heading into the peak season, of which CAD 1.1 million remained outstanding at year-end.
Full-year SG&A expenses decreased CAD 4.8 million, year-over-year to CAD 28.8 million. Approximately CAD 3.1 million of that reduction reflects the absence of a one-time charge incurred in fiscal 2024 to terminate legacy IT contracts, with the balance representing ongoing structural savings from our replatformed technology infrastructure and a more disciplined marketing spend. In addition, we will be reducing our operational footprint from two to one building in Montreal. More on this subject later in my presentation. Given that infrastructure expenses and our cost base are largely fixed, incremental revenue from our omni-channel growth strategy will flow through the P&L at higher margins, creating meaningful operating leverage as we scale. Importantly, our analysis shows that the store-led growth plan becomes self-funding as the portfolio grows.
The incremental free cash flow from new stores provides the capital required to fund subsequent openings, reducing our reliance on external financing over time. These latest initiatives position us to generate sustained profitability, supported by disciplined expansion and a strong real estate pipeline. Now, let's take a closer look at our financial results in the fourth quarter of 2025. Consolidated sales improved 1.2% year-over-year to CAD 23.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. This modest growth masks significant different dynamics across geographies and channels. Sales in Canada, which represented 88% of total revenue, increased by CAD 1.2 million or 6.1% from the fourth quarter of 2024, demonstrating healthy domestic demand across our retail stores and online platform during the holiday season.
On the other hand, sales in the United States decreased by CAD 0.9 million or 25.2% year-over-year, mainly due to the U.S.-Canada trade tensions and tariff-related headwinds affecting our e-commerce channel. As Sarah indicated earlier, we expect to see a marked improvement in this area beginning in the second half of 2026, given our establishment of a fulfillment center in the United States with a third-party logistics partner. On a channel basis, retail store sales grew by CAD 1 million, or 11.9% to CAD 9.6 million in Q4 of 2025, reflecting the continued recovery of in-store holiday shopping behavior, the contribution of two new stores that opened in the Montréal area during fiscal 2024, and the opening of a new store at Laurier Québec Mall in Québec City in December 2025.
These results are consistent with our target of CAD 1.2 million-CAD 1.4 million in annual sales per location and validate the unit economics underpinning our 2026 store expansion plan. Online sales, meanwhile, declined by CAD 0.6 million or 4.7% to CAD 11.8 million, mainly due to the impact of U.S. tariff headwinds on cross-border shipments, partially offset by healthy domestic online demand during the latest holiday period. For their part, wholesale channel sales decreased by CAD 0.2 million or 7.6% to CAD 2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. The year-over-year decline can be attributed to the timing of wholesale replenishment orders. On a comparable store basis, sales rose 6.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 6.8% for the full fiscal year.
DAVIDsTEA opened one new store in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, with four additional ones planned for fiscal 2026. Gross profit as a percentage of sales rose by 430 basis points to 58.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025, our strongest gross margin performance in recent memory. This improvement was driven by three key factors: a higher proportion of full-margin product sales within our holiday assortment, reduced freight and inbound shipping cost per unit, and lower fulfillment cost per order. Selling, General and Administrative expenses decreased by CAD 0.4 million or 4.4% year-over-year to CAD 8.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The decline in SG&A expenses can mainly be attributed to lower marketing expenses year-over-year, partially offset by higher wages, salaries, and employee benefits, as well as greater professional and consulting fees. As a percentage of sales, SG&A expenses dropped to 36.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025 from 38.3% in the same period of 2024. In terms of profitability, net income more than doubled to CAD 5.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 from CAD 2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. This strong performance on an IFRS basis reflects the flow-through of gross margin expansion and cost discipline during the revenue-intensive fourth quarter, which contributed to our positive net income results for the full fiscal year.
This milestone validates our store-driven growth strategy on the road to delivering sustained profitability and long-lasting value for our shareholders. As investors are aware, our business is highly seasonal, with the fourth quarter representing the majority of our annual profitability. Managing working capital and inventory positioning across the full fiscal year remains a key focus as we scale. Adjusted EBITDA reached CAD 5.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to CAD 4 million in the same period last year. This improvement was mainly driven by higher gross margin, supported by a favorable product mix and lower input costs, combined with a better absorption of SG&A expenses during the holiday season. Looking ahead, the financial framework for our store-led growth plan is straightforward. Based on the unit economics Sarah described, doubling our store count over the medium term would generate meaningful incremental revenue and free cash flow.
We are targeting a sales CAGR of more than 10% over the next three years, driven by new store openings, a recovery in the U.S. e-commerce channel, and continued wholesale expansion. We believe achieving an Adjusted EBITDA margin in the low double digits on a sustained basis is attainable as incremental revenue flows through our largely fixed cost base. On the cost control side, we've completed most of the heavy lifting to deliver sustained profitability, but we intend to consolidate our operating footprint in 2026 to generate additional cost savings and enhance operating efficiency. More specifically, we will be consolidating all operations, administration, storage, and production, into a single modernized facility of approximately 160,000 sq ft in the Mont- Royal area of Montreal. Our administrative office and storage warehouse had already been located in this facility in recent years.
By early July, we will move all production and assembly operations into a fully upgraded SQF and HACCP qualified environment under the same roof, while not renewing our lease at the other location. The transition is expected to be completed by early July, ahead of our peak inventory build season, and we have a detailed execution plan in place to maintain continuity of production throughout the move. The end result should be reduced costs and an increased efficiencies through a fully upgraded production and assembly environment, coupled with having everybody working under a single roof. We will initially be occupying approximately 140,000 sq ft, and with the options to extend up to the full 160,000 sq ft of the facility if the business need arises.
Before we conclude, I want to be direct about why we believe now is the right time to invest in DAVIDsTEA. We operate in a large and growing addressable market, with specialty tea benefiting from secular wellness trends. We have a distinctive in-store experience that consumers are asking for us to bring back to their communities. We have proven store economics with a clear path to self-funding growth, and we've demonstrated through the results we reported today that this management team can execute. We encourage investors wishing to learn more about DAVIDsTEA to contact investor relations, who will help coordinate access to management. On behalf of the entire DAVIDsTEA team, thank you for joining us today.