United Natural Foods Shows Improved Earnings in Q1
Providence, Wednesday, 11 December 2024.
United Natural Foods, Inc. reported a reduced net loss of USD 21 million for Q1, compared to USD 39 million last year, with sales increasing to USD 7.871 billion.
Financial Performance Overview
United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE: UNFI) demonstrated notable improvement in its financial performance for the first quarter ended November 2, 2024. The company’s sales reached USD 7,871 million, up from USD 7,552 million in the same period last year [1][5]. The reduction in net loss from USD 39 million to USD 21 million represents a significant improvement in the company’s bottom line [1][4].
Earnings Per Share and Analyst Expectations
The company reported a loss per share of USD 0.35, showing improvement from the USD 0.67 loss per share in the previous year [1][4]. When excluding certain items, United Natural Foods posted adjusted earnings of USD 10 million, or USD 0.16 per share, surpassing analysts’ projections of a USD 0.01 loss per share [4][5].
Operational Metrics and Cost Management
The company’s gross profit margin experienced a slight decrease to 13.2% from 13.6% year-over-year, primarily due to lower product margin rates and changes in customer and product mix [6]. Operating expenses showed improvement, decreasing to USD 1,015 million from USD 1,023 million in the previous year, reflecting successful cost-saving initiatives and improved sales leverage [6].
Future Outlook and Guidance
Looking ahead, United Natural Foods has provided guidance for the full fiscal year, projecting earnings per share between USD 0.40 and USD 0.80, with anticipated revenue ranging from USD 30.6 billion to USD 31.0 billion [4][5]. The company maintains a strong liquidity position of USD 1,174 million, including unused credit under its ABL Credit Facility [6].