UNF stock is flat in this morning's pre-market trading session after UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) reported first-quarter 2017 financial results. The uniform and work wear company's results included earnings per share of $1.38, down $0.40, or 22.5 percent, year over year, and revenue of $386.1 million, up $12.7 million, or 3.4 percent, year over year. The EPS figure missed the Wall Street analyst consensus of $1.57 by $0.19, or 12.1 percent. Revenue missed the expectation of $373.38 million by $7.17 million, or 1.8 percent.
UniFirst Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ronald Croatti and the UniFirst management team has scheduled a conference call for 10 a.m.
ET, which investors may gain access to from the UniFirst investor relations website. Mr. Croatti is 74-years-old and has served as UniFirst chairman since 2002 and CEO since 1991; he earned $2.13 million in compensation in 2016 and exercised $148,000 in options. He has been with the firm since 1965.
CEO Croatti stated that growth in the first quarter was affected by a loss of energy customers. He went on to state that "energy-related headwinds may be subsiding" and that "organic growth rates" should improve through fiscal 2017 if current trends continue. He expressed that management was "encouraged" by recent Business.
UniFirst wins bronze at Best in Biz awards
In December 2016, UniFirst won bronze in the category for Film or Video of the Year in the Best in Biz Awards, which is judged by journalists and clothing industry analysts, for two recruitment videos produced in partnership with Ydraw.
Sales training and recruitment specialist Julia Davis said that UniFirst had observed an "increase in the number and the quality" of candidates since the release of the videos. Davis went on to state that a number of the firm's employees have included links to the videos in their company email signatures as a result of the productions being "so well received."
Founded in 1903, with headquarters in Wilmington, Massachusetts, UniFirst employs 13,000 workers delivering uniforms and other services through 300,000 customer locations and 240 service locations.
In addition to providing branded work wear and uniforms, UniFirst is also a provider of safety and first aid products. Close to two million employees wear UniFirst garments at work every business day.
UniFirst earnings seen contracting, revenue expected to grow in 2017
For the full-2017 fiscal year, the consensus is for revenue to grow, by 6.3 percent, to $1.56 billion.
UniFirst earnings, on a per-share basis, are forecast to contract, by 9.3 percent, to $5.16, from $5.69, in 2017. Going into today's report, the company last reported an operating margin of 12.62 percent and a profit margin of 8.52 percent. UniFirst held $363.8 million in cash and zero debt. Management has delivered a return on equity of 9.59 percent, as reported by Yahoo Finance.
