Net Licensing Revenues flat year-over-year at $2.2 million for the quarter. Direct Operating Costs and Expenses of $4.0 million for the quarter, a reduction of $3.0 million or 43% from the prior year quarter. GAAP net loss of $6.3 million for the quarter, compared with GAAP net loss of $6.0 million in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA of ($1.6) million for the quarter, compared with Adjusted EBITDA of ($3.0) million for the prior year quarter, an improvement of $1.4 million. NEW YORK, May 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xcel Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:XELB) ("Xcel" or the "Company"), a media and consumer products company with significant expertise in livestream shopping and social commerce, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. Robert W. D'Loren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xcel commented, "I am very pleased with our completion of Project Fundamentals which significantly reduced our overhead and operating risk returning us to a working capital light business that made us so successful over the years. The company is now poised for strong growth in our core licensing business and our investment in Orme the video and social commerce marketplace is extremely exciting based upon its potential."    First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Net revenue for the first quarter of 2024 was $2.2 million, representing a decrease of approximately $3.9 million (-44%) from the first quarter of 2023. This decline was almost entirely driven by the decrease in net product sales to zero, due to the Company's discontinuance of all of its wholesale businesses as part of its Project Fundamentals plan in 2023. Licensing revenue was essentially flat year-over-year at $2.2 million for the quarter. Net loss attributable to Xcel Brands for the quarter was approximately $6.3 million, or ($0.31) per share, compared with a net loss of $5.6 million, or ($0.30) per diluted share, for the prior year quarter. The current quarter includes a non-cash charge of $2.3 million related to the exit and subleasing of our prior office space which was completed in the current quarter. After adjusting for certain cash and non-cash items, results on a non-GAAP basis were a net loss of approximately $1.8 million, or ($0.09) per share for the current quarter and a net loss of approximately $3.6 million, or ($0.18) per share, for the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA improved significantly on a year-over-year basis to negative $1.6 million for the current quarter as compared with negative $3.0 million for the prior year quarter, primarily as a result of the restructuring of our business and entry into the new long-term license agreements for the Company's Halston, Judith Ripka, C Wonder and Longaberger brands.   Balance Sheet The Company's balance sheet at December 31, 2023, reflected stockholders' equity of approximately $44 million, cash and cash equivalents of approximately $1.6 million, and working capital, exclusive of the current portion of lease obligations and deferred revenue, of approximately $2.1 million. As of March 31, 2024, the Company recorded $4.7 million of term debt, net of deferred finance costs of $0.3 million, of which $1.0 million is recorded as short-term debt. Conference Call and Webcast The Company will host a conference call with members of the executive management team to discuss these results with additional comments and details at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 20, 2024. A webcast of the conference call will be available live on the Investor Relations section of Xcel's website at www.xcelbrands.com. Interested parties unable to access the conference call via the webcast may dial 800-715-9871 or 646-307-1963 and use the conference ID 3975904. A replay of the webcast will be available on Xcel's website. About Xcel Brands Xcel Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:XELB) is a media and consumer products company engaged in the design, licensing, marketing, live streaming, and social commerce sales of branded apparel, footwear, accessories, fine jewelry, home goods and other consumer products, and the acquisition of dynamic consumer lifestyle brands. Xcel was founded in 2011 with a vision to reimagine shopping, entertainment, and social media as social commerce. Xcel owns the Judith Ripka, Halston, LOGO by Lori Goldstein, C. Wonder and Tower Hill by Christie Brinkley brands and a minority stake in the Isaac Mizrahi brand. It also owns and manages the Longaberger brand through its controlling interest in Longaberger Licensing LLC. Xcel is pioneering a true modern consumer products sales strategy which includes the promotion and sale of products under its brands through interactive television, digital live-stream shopping, social commerce, brick-and-mortar retail, and e-commerce channels to be everywhere its customers shop. The company's brands have generated in excess of $5 billion in retail sales via livestreaming in interactive television and digital channels alone, and over 20,000 hours of live-stream and social commerce. Headquartered in New York City, Xcel Brands is led by an executive team with significant live streaming, production, merchandising, design, marketing, retailing, and licensing experience, and a proven track record of success in elevating branded consumer products companies. www.xcelbrands.com Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including statements regarding future events, our future financial performance, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including "anticipates," "believes," "can," "continue," "ongoing," "could," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "appears," "suggests," "future," "likely," "goal," "plans," "potential," "projects," "predicts," "seeks," "should," "would," "guidance," "confident" or "will" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our anticipated revenue, expenses, profitability, strategic plans and capital needs. These statements are based on information available to us on the date hereof and our current expectations, estimates and projections and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, including, without limitation, the risks discussed in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in the Company's Annual Report on form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and its other filings with the SEC, which may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risk factors, nor can we address the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or any other reason. For further information please contact:Seth Burroughs Xcel Brands Non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted EPS are non-GAAP unaudited terms. We define non-GAAP net income as net income (loss) attributable to Xcel Brands, Inc. stockholders, exclusive of amortization of trademarks, proportional share of trademark amortization of equity method investee, stock-based compensation and cost of licensee warrants and asset impairment, Non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted EPS measures do not include the tax effect of the aforementioned adjusting items, due to the nature of these items and the Company's tax strategy. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP unaudited measure, which we define as net income (loss) attributable to Xcel Brands, Inc. stockholders, exclusive of amortization of trademarks, proportional share of trademark amortization of equity method investee, stock-based compensation and cost of licensee warrants, interest and finance, asset impairment and other state and local franchise taxes. Management uses non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, and Adjusted EBITDA as measures of operating performance to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis and to identify business trends relating to our results of operations. Management believes non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, and Adjusted EBITDA are also useful because these measures adjust for certain costs and other events that management believes are not representative of our core business operating results, and thus these non-GAAP measures provide supplemental information to assist investors in evaluating our financial results. Adjusted EBITDA is the measure used to calculate compliance with the EBITDA covenant under our term loan agreement. Non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to net income, earnings per share, or any other measure of financial performance calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Given that non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, and Adjusted EBITDA are financial measures not deemed to be in accordance with GAAP and are susceptible to varying calculations, our non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, and Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies, including companies in our industry, because other companies may calculate these measures in a different manner than we do. In evaluating non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, and Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future we may or may not incur expenses similar to some of the adjustments in this document. Our presentation of non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, and Adjusted EBITDA does not imply that our future results will be unaffected by these expenses or any unusual or non-recurring items. When evaluating our performance, you should consider non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, and Adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including our net income and other GAAP results, and not rely on any single financial measure. Xcel Brands, Inc. and Subsidiaries Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations (in thousands, except share and per share data)               For the Three Months Ended   March 31,   2024   2023 Revenues           Net licensing revenue $ 2,184     $ 2,222   Net sales   0       3,828   Net revenue   2,184       6,050   Cost of goods sold (sales)   -       2,693   Gross profit   2,184       3,357               Operating costs and expenses           Salaries, benefits and employment taxes   1,933       3,465   Other selling, general and administrative expenses   2,029       3,493   Total direct operating costs and expenses   3,962       6,958               Operating loss before other operating costs and expenses   (1,778 )     (3,601 )             Other expense, including non-cash expenses           Depreciation and amortization   1,589       1,797   Asset Impairment Charges   2,295       -   Loss from equity method investment   533       515               Operating loss   (6,195 )     (5,913 )             Interest and finance expense           Interest expense - term loan debt   146       -   Other interest and finance charges (income), net   4       25   Total interest and finance expense   150       25               Loss before income taxes   (6,345 )     (5,938 )             Income tax provision (benefit)   -       -               Net loss   (6,345