United Natural Tops Estimate, Outlook Strong; Stock Up - Update

(RTTNews) - United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI) Wednesday reported a better-than-expected increase in fourth-quarter profit, helped by a seven percent rise in sales, partly offset by lower margins.

The company detailed a strong outlook for fiscal year 2015, sending its shares up 6 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq.

"During fiscal 2014 UNFI continued to enhance its product offering through the acquisition of Tony's Fine Foods while building out capacity and infrastructure," said CEO Steven Spinner.

United Natural, based in Providence, Richmond, posted fourth-quarter net earnings of $33.4 million or $0.67 per share, compared with $32 million or $0.65 per share last year.

On average, 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.65 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Sales for the quarter rose 7.4 percent to $1.76 billion from $1.64 billion in the prior year, topping analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion.

The quarter included incremental sales of about $64 million resulting from the company's acquisition of Tony's Fine Foods and Trudeau Foods.

Gross margin for the quarter slid 88 basis points from last year to 16.4 percent, hurt mainly by foreign exchange impact as well as product and customer mix. Operating margin fell 51 basis points to 2.9 percent.

For the full year 2015, the company expects earnings of $2.88 to $3.01 per share on sales of $8.13 billion to $8.38 billion. Analysts currently expect earnings of $2.88 per share on sales of $7.76 billion for the year.

UNFI closed Wednesday at $63.61, up $0.43 or 0.68%, on a volume of 722k shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock gained $3.87 or 6.08%.