Vending

UNFI lifts Q4, FY 2022 sales, earnings mixed

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September 28, 2022

United Natural Foods Inc. lifted its Q4 and full year 2022 sales, while earnings were mixed for the quarterly and full year periods, according to an earnings release.

Higher sales were driven by inflation and new business from both existing and new customers, including the benefit of cross selling, partially offset by supply chain challenges and reduced unit sales growth.

Highlights include:

• Net sales increased 8% from $6.7 billion in Q4 2021 to $7.3 billion in the quarter ending July 30, 2022.
• Net income decreased 9.3% from $43 million to $39 million in the comparative quarters.
• Diluted EPS decreased 8.7% from 69 cents to 63 cents.
• Adjusted EPS increased 1.6% from $1.25 to $1.27.
• Full year net sales increased 7.3% from $26.9 billion to $28.9 billion.
• Full year net income increased 66.4% from $149 million to $248 million.
• Full year diluted EPS increased 64.1% from $2.38 to $4.07.
• Full year adjusted EPS increased 15.6% from $4.18 to $4.83.

Shares traded at $36.31 today against a 52-week range of $33.63-$57.89.

The $7.3 billion in quarterly revenue missed analyst expectations by $300 million, while the non-GAAP EPS of $1.27 beat expectations by one cent, according to Seeking Alpha.

"Our fourth quarter capped a year of improving operational performance driving strong financial results," Sandy Douglas, CEO at UNF Inc., said in the press release. "Our commitment to delivering higher customer service levels amidst significant industry and economic uncertainty helped us achieve market share gains. We also generated meaningful growth across our key financial metrics, including mid-teens adjusted earnings growth, while we reduced net leverage to under 2.6x and increased liquidity to approximately $1.7 billion."

For fiscal 2023, the company is projecting 4% growth in net sales to $29.8 billion-$30.4 billion; a 3% gain in net income to $247 million-$266 million; and a 4% gain in adjusted EPS to $4.85-$5.15.