Plant-based food stocks lack sustainable finance

Oatly AB

10/06/2022 09:44

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Karen Kwok
    LONDON, June 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shares in
faux-milk maker Oatly and plant-based burger purveyor Beyond
Meat have tumbled this year. Despite flimsy gross margins, both
still trade at a premium to bigger food rivals. Without a plan
to cut costs, they will struggle to attract buyers or survive on
their own.        
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    CONTEXT NEWS
    Oatly is lining up a successor to its Chief Executive Toni
Petersson, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 24, citing
people familiar with the matter. 
    The board of the oat-milk maker began talks in the summer of
2021 to find a CEO with more operational experience who would
allow Petersson to focus on business development, the WSJ said.
The search took on more urgency when the company’s stock price
fell later in the year, the report said. There are also concerns
about recent losses and that the company will need a fresh
injection of cash, the WSJ said.
    Beyond Meat on May 11 reported a gross margin of 0.17% for
the first quarter ended April 2, a 30 percentage point slide
from a year earlier. Cash used for operations surged to $165
million from about $31 million a year earlier. CEO Ethan
Brown said the company was taking “several measures” to reduce
expenses, Reuters reported  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2X43Q9.

 (Editing by Peter Thal Larsen and Oliver Taslic)
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