EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. — A rule of thumb in business is if a loss incurred by a company is nearly as high as its annual sales — it’s not great.

Beyond Meat, Inc. suffered a loss of $338.1 million during fiscal 2023 on sales of $343.4 million. Much of the loss stems from impairment charges taken in the fourth quarter as management tries to right size the business for the future. The fiscal 2023 results follow fiscal 2022, when the company incurred a loss of $366.1 million on sales of $419 million.

During the fourth quarter, Beyond Meat incurred a loss of $155.1 million, significantly higher than the loss of $66.9 million during the year before. Quarterly sales fell to $73.7 million from $80 million the year prior.

Some of the non-cash charges taken during the fourth quarter related to the cost of goods sold and excess and obsolete inventory, operating expenses related to fixed assets, and a discontinuing of some product lines, most notably the jerky product developed and distributed in partnership with PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, NY.

“These refinements of our focus and resources (will) be put against our latest product platform innovation Beyond IV and other SKUs, which we believe have higher profitable growth potential here in the US and are consistent with my intention to focus more resources against key markets and customers in Europe,” said Ethan Brown, president and chief executive officer, during a Feb. 27 conference call with securities analysts to discuss the company’s results.

Additional changes being made by the company include shrinking its manufacturing footprint from working with 13 contract manufacturers to one and raising prices in the year ahead.

“The broad pricing programs we put in place over the last 18 months simply didn't accomplish the goal of crossing from early adopters into the mainstream,” Brown said. “In retrospect, the noise and swirl surrounding the category reached decibels that were perhaps sufficient to ground out pricing and other messages.”

Brown added that the price increases are part of an effort to reset the business from a focus of more growth at all costs to one that is focused on sustainability and profitability.

In the United States, Beyond Meat’s sales fell 32% to $205.9 million from $304 million the year before. International sales rose 19.7% to $137.5 million from $114.9 million.

In the United States, retail and foodservice volumes fell 26% and 30%, respectively, while international retail and foodservice volumes rose 3.5% and 60%, respectively.

Lubi Kutua, chief financial officer, said during the call that the reality is Beyond Meat’s US retail business continues to be challenged. Those challenges have prompted the company to consider international opportunities.

“…If you look at our international business relative to (the) US, it does skew more toward foodservice and … we’ve built a pretty meaningful business…,” he said.

For fiscal 2024, Beyond Meat is guiding sales to be in a range between $315 million and $345 million. Net sales for the first quarter are expected to be between $70 million and $75 million, according to the company.