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With its first full year of profitable growth under its belt, oatmilk pioneer Oatly indicated this morning that it's ready now to dial up its marketing and innovation efforts, with oats' fiber content to be one key message it seeks to deliver. On innovation side, visitors to Expo West next month may see items like Cold Foam Barista line, claimed to be first plant-based topper, along with expanded array of Barista and Matcha flavors. They won't see return of alt-ice creams or cheeses as Swedish co goes all-in on bevs from now on. The progress comes after current mgmt team has spent past several years upending original biz model that won Oatly a lavish valuation in IPO, moving to asset-lighter model rather than relying on near-total vertical integration, and searching Swedish co's nooks & crannies for inefficiencies to root out, tripling margin to 32% over past 4 yrs. Now, with signs that house finally is getting in order, it's ready to start spending on marketing and innovation again after early experiments with new "playbook" in markets like Germany validated approach. But as with ops, it's following a different strategy now, as CEO Jean-Christophe Flatin and COO Daniel Ordonez pointed out on investor call this morning. Sustainability messaging has been pushed to background, with emphasis now on flavor to win young new converts. That doesn't mean that key mission no longer is to reduce emissions associated with animal dairy; rather, it's a recognition that the mission is best advanced as recruitment effort succeeds via flavor messaging. Another shift: instead of seeking to offer oat-based substitutes for every dairy product, from ice cream to cheese, Oatly now is entirely focused on bevs, finding new growth opportunities by widening lens beyond coffee occasions to include matcha, various cold bevs and other segments.Some of the new products that Flatin and Ordonez teased today reflect that. After adding Vanilla, Caramel and Popcorn flavors to Barista line in past year, it's adding Churros and Coconut entries now. Barista Cold Foam will offer rare plant-based option for that function and co has created Barista-Matic entry targeting automated coffeemakers. Matcha platform is adding Strawberry. And while most innovations have traditionally debuted in established European markets and taken their time to cross Atlantic, Ordonez indicated that's not so much the case any more. With similar drink recipes proving popular on both continents, Oatly no longer makes a distinction. So new stuff will appear in US "very soon," with retailers' reset schedules now the key bottleneck.On messaging side, at time some brands are emphasizing protein, Oatly instead will command users to "Drink your fiber!" As Daniel noted, it's well-established that Western consumers are consuming a surplus of protein even as they run a daily deficit of 10 g of fiber a day. A glass of Oatly oatmilk can knock 2 g out of that deficit, he said. So it will be fiber, not protein, that gets emphasis, reflecting how co has "stayed true to who we are and what the science says." He noted, "now that we've reached profitable growth, we will progressively see more visible brand investment behind demand generation," as started happening in Europe in past year.Sales Up Just 4% but Margin Fattens Revenue in Q4 advanced 9.1% to $233.8 mil, +4.3% excluding currency shifts, on 2.9% increase in volume to 157.6 mil liters. Gross margin widened by 5.8 pts to 34.5% thanks to supply chain improvements in Europe & International and product and channel mix in North America and Greater China. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $11 mil, reversing $6.1 mil loss a year earlier. For full year, revenues rose 4.7% to $862.5 mil, +2.2% adjust for currency fluctuations. As co has strived to titen ops, net cash used in operating activities came to $23.7 mil for full year vs $114.4 mil in 2024. It concluded year with $64.3 mil in cash on balance sheet and total outstanding debt of $523 mil. Looking ahead to 2026, co anticipates growth in 3-5% range, excluding currency factors, and more robust EBITDA in range of $25-35 mil.By region, core Europe & Int'l biz rose 23.3% to $133.7 mil, +14.2% to $123.9 mil excluding favorable currency shifts, on strength of Barista lineup. Sold volume rose 14% to 89.3 mil liters. EBITDA soared 60% to $26.5 mil. N Amer brought more subdued performance as largest foodservice customer, presumably Starbucks, cut its purchases. Revenue sagged 8.8% to $64.4 mil on 12.6% volume decrease to 35.8 mil liters. Excluding that customer, revenue actually was up 10%, and Oatly brass indicated on investor call that this customer has dropped below 10% of segment sales and execs are focused on building their biz with more profitable customers. "We focus on the controllables," Ordonez said. Despite volume drop, region was able to nudge up its adjusted EBITDA to $4.4 mil from $1.2 mil a year earlier.Greater China also was soft. Revenue there edged up 1.1% to $35.7 mil in Q4, but was off 0.1% on currency-adjusted basis. Volume sagged 4% to 32.5 mil liters. Declines in foodservice channel were partly offset by growth at retail. Approximately 66% of Greater China revenue was from the foodservice channel for the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to 76% in the prior year period. Oatly is undertaking strategic review of China biz but said it had nothing to report today.'Mixed Feelings' on MAHA-Inspired US Guidelines Lately, whole milk has been making a comeback in some circles as some nutritionists start to view its fat content as beneficial. Poked by analyst on issue, Ordonez was unmoved. "Cow's milk volume continues to decline," with exception of protein-enriched, he reminded. That brought him to new guidelines being issued from Trump administration. He's got "mixed feelings" about those. On one hand, he's heartened to find non-dairy milks endorsed in some actions. But he's also concerned over the heavy push for American diet to include more cow's milk and meat. That "goes against clinical advice," at time obesity already is a leading cause of death. Meanwhile, it sets back climate mission, considering that meat accounts for half of all food-system emissions.

Turning the Corner on Cash Burn in 2025, Oatly Ready to Step Up Marketing & Innovation; Fiber Messaging Enters Mix; Launches Plant-Based Cold Foam Creamer

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