PROVIDENCE, RI - United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) closed out the 2016 fiscal year on a high note, beating expectations in its Q4 report.
"We are pleased with UNFI’s accomplishments in fiscal 2016 which demonstrate our team’s focus on our strategic initiatives, particularly in light of a challenging operating environment," Steven Spinner, President and CEO, said, according to the report. "We believe our efforts to further enhance UNFI’s perishable perimeter product offerings, combined with the scale of our leading national distribution network, position us well for growth in sales and profitability over the next several years."
Part of the boost the company saw in its net sales, which saw a 7.4% increase from last year’s $2.06 billion to $2.21 billion, were the integration of acquisitions like Nor-Cal Produce, Inc. and Haddon House Food Products, Inc. This alone added upwards of $138.9 million to UNFI’s net sales, along with the operations of Global Organic/Specialty Source, Inc., which were previously separable and have since been integrated into the company's existing Albert's business.
Additional highlights from the report included:
- Net sales for FY 2016 increased 3.5% to $8.47 billion compared to $8.18 billion in FY 2015
- Adjusted net sales for FY 2016 increased 8.0% compared to fiscal 2015, excluding the year-over-year impact of the previously disclosed termination of a customer distribution contract and the impact of the previously disclosed Q2 2015 reduction in net sales
- EBITDA for the Q4 of fiscal 2016 was $82.5 million, an increase of 1.0% from $81.7 million Q4 2015
- Net income for the Q4 2016 decreased 3.9%, or $1.4 million, to $34.7 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, from $36.1 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, Q4 2015
Gross margin, 15.60% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, total operating expenses, 12.78% of net sales for Q4 of fiscal 2016, and other increases were primarily driven by acquisitions, UNFI noted.
"Our recent acquisitions further strengthened our service offering and we believe UNFI is uniquely positioned to service customers across every channel of food retail in the U.S. and Canada," Spinner said.
As for what’s to come, the company said that it expects net sales to increase in the range of 11.3% to 13.3% over fiscal 2016 net sales, as well as a 1.2% to 5.2% boost in GAAP earnings per diluted share for fiscal 2017.
"As we enter fiscal 2017, we remain committed to our strategy of building out the store and are optimistic about new customer growth in both our fresh and core distribution programs," Spinner concluded.
AndNowUKnow will continue to reports as UNFI and other companies look to expand their reach within the industry.
