GRAND RAPIDS, MI – This week, SpartanNash released its financial report for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2017, as well as revealed its 2018 plans to ride the wave of retail growth. After an increase in net sales–driven by growth in the food distribution and organic segments–SpartanNash confirmed plans to invest 50 percent of its tax reform savings into associates and programs in order to leverage itself amongst competitors in the coming year.
“We ended 2017 with the company positioned for growth despite the ever-evolving retail landscape,” David Staples, President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a press release. “During the year, we expanded our food distribution customer base and private brand offerings, diversified our sales channels, continued optimizing certain aspects of our supply chain, and invested in both the Caito management team and our retail store base. While the retail environment remains challenging, we are focused on capitalizing on our growth opportunities and leveraging our differentiated business model to drive sales and profitability. We continue to take actions that we believe will enhance the convenience and value that we provide our customers and continue to see positive results from our investments. To enhance this momentum, we intend to invest approximately 50 percent of our tax reform savings in our associates and programs designed to improve our competitive position.”
Capping off a year of continued progress in its key strategic initiatives, SpartanNash experienced sales growth in food distribution, something Staples attributes to its expanding relationships with existing customers and drive of new business. Other fourth quarter results included:
- Consolidated net sales for the fourth quarter increased $96.0 million, or 5.3%, to $1.92 billion from $1.83 in the prior year quarter
- Gross profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 was $254.8 million, or 13.2% of net sales, compared to $259.3 million, or 14.2%, in the prior year quarter
- Reported operating expenses for the fourth quarter were $235.9 million, or 12.3% of net sales, compared to $234.6 million, or 12.8% of net sales, in the prior year quarter
- Operating earnings for the fourth quarter were $18.9 million compared to earnings of $24.6 million in the prior year quarter
Fiscal Year 2017 results included:
- Consolidated net sales for fiscal 2017 increased $393.5 million, or 5.1%, to $8.13 billion from $7.73 billion in the prior year
- Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2017 improved to $236.4 million from $231.0 million in fiscal 2016, representing 2.9% of net sales in fiscal 2017 and 3.0% of net sales in fiscal 2016
- For fiscal 2017, capital expenditures were $71.0 million, depreciation and amortization expense was $83.2 million and interest expense totaled $25.3 million
Moving into the new fiscal year, SpartanNash is anticipating year-over-year sales growth to continue in the food distribution segment, and is expecting an improvement in retail stores’ comparable sales as it works to position new offerings. SpartanNash will also continue to pilot and test innovative concepts and incorporate the learnings into its retail operations and distribution customer offerings as a means to strengthen its position in the retail running.
To see the full fiscal report, click here. For more news like this, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
