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United Natural Foods Q4 Profit Rise 28%, Results Top Estimates

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Specialty food distributor, United Natural Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI) said last evening that fiscal fourth quarter net income rose 28%, driven by wider margins and higher sales. Shares gained in aftermarket hours as both revenue and earnings were better-than-expected.

For the latest period, the company reported a profit of $32 million or 65 cents a share compared to a net income of $25 million or 51 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecasted earnings of 60 cents a share. Analysts’ forecast typically excludes onetime items.

Sales in the latest quarter rose to $1.64 billion from $1.34 billion, in the same period of last year. Analysts’ consensus estimate was for revenue of $1.63 billion.

Gross margin climbed 11 basis points while operating margin jumped 20 basis points, in the recently concluded quarter.

For the fiscal 2014, United Natural Foods anticipates earnings to be in the range of $2.40 to $2.50 a share on sales of $6.65 billion to $6.78 billion while analysts’ consensus estimate was for earnings of $2.49 a share on sales of $6.61 billion.

The Providence RI., based Company, which distributes organic, specialty foods to more than 27,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, has been benefitted in the recent past as the demand for organic food has outpaced the growth in broader food sector.

 








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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.

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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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