Tupperware Brands Corp. is once again issuing a stark warning to investors that the company's end might be near.
Latest: Tupperware to close its only US manufacturing plant in fall 2024
"The company has concluded that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern for at least one year from the issuance date of these financial statements," Tupperware said in a March 29 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Orlando, Fla.-based company was months late in filing the company's third quarter 2023 financial results with the SEC and said fourth quarter and full year results for 2023 also will be further delayed.
Tupperware is revealing volatility in the ability to generate cash from operations as well as volatility in company earnings is causing problems. "The company forecasts that it will not have adequate liquidity to fund its operations and meet its financial obligations in the near term," the filing states.
The consumer products company still has an estimated $140 million in injection molding sales in North America annually, placing it at No. 71 in Plastics News' ranking of molders in the region.
It was just about a year ago that Tupperware made headlines when the company warned it was in a world of hurt due to a yearslong trend of falling sales and mounting debt.
Tupperware's board of directors currently is seeking ways to improve the company's financial condition and warned that potential new funding such as the sale of more common stock would most likely dilute existing stockholders' investments.
In October 2023, the company sold a manufacturing facility in Hemingway, S.C., for $15 million, with net proceeds of $14 million, and leased back the location for 14 months. Tupperware also sold a warehouse and office location in Indonesia in June 2023 for $12.2 million, with net proceeds of $11.3 million. The warehouse was then leased for three years and the office space for two years.
Tupperware, in the SEC filing, said the two locations "did not represent a strategic shift and will not have a major effect on its results of operations." Proceeds from the sales were required to pay down debt and did not go to operating the company.
Tupperware cautioned in the SEC filing the company could face a bankruptcy court filing.
Update July 2024: Tupperware CFO is leaving the company amid ongoing financial problems
"If the company is unable to execute its revised business plan, it would require management to modify its operations to reduce spending to a sustainable level by, among other things, delaying, scaling back or eliminating some or all of the company's ongoing or planned investments in corporate infrastructure, business development, sales and marketing, research and development, and other activities, which would have a material impact on the company's operations, or it may be forced to file for bankruptcy protection," according to the filing.
"Given the uncertainties around the company's liquidity, ability to execute its revised business plan and ability to comply [and current noncompliance] with covenants under its credit agreement, the company has concluded that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern for at least one year from the date of issuance of these consolidated financial statements," the filing added.
Tupperware was founded in 1942 by Earl Tupper and launched its first polyethylene food container in 1946. Brownie Wise joined the company in 1951 and launched the "Tupperware party" sales system behind its growth in the post-World War II era.
