LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unified Grocers, Inc. (the “Company”), the largest wholesale grocery distributor in the Western United States, announced that it has filed results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, ended April 1, 2017 (“fiscal 2017 Q2”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Company incurred substantial transaction costs and other expenses associated with preparations for the execution of a definitive merger agreement with Supervalu (traded on NYSE under ticker symbol "SVU"), which was announced on April 10, 2017. Several other factors also contributed to a $2.8 million decrease in operating income in fiscal 2017 Q2. These included a change in the Dairy program in July 2016, whereby prices were reduced and the dairy patronage dividend was discontinued, and an equity adjustment related to our investment in Western Family. Logistics improvements and reduced administrative expenses partially offset this loss of income.
The Company experienced an overall net sales decrease of $37.7 million, or 4.1%, to $877.4 million for fiscal 2017 Q2 as compared to $915.1 million for fiscal 2016 Q2. The decline in sales was the result of a number of factors, including the loss of some unprofitable non-member business, some loss in business following the sale of the Los Angeles bakery manufacturing facility and lower meat sales prices due to declines in the related commodity cost that were passed along to our customers.
“The business is on a steady track, despite the distractions and expenses associated with the Supervalu transaction and other one-off expenses that negatively impacted operating income in the second quarter,” said Bob Ling, President and Chief Executive Officer, Unified Grocers. “Total sales to our existing customer base have remained stable and even in a deflationary cycle, our margins are sound after removing the impact of lowering prices in the dairy. We have made tremendous improvements in our core business, which remains sound despite the headwinds our broader industry is facing.”
For more information, see Unified’s Form 10-Q filing with the SEC on unifiedgrocers.com and at sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
The filing included the following financial information:
| Unified Grocers, Inc. Selected Consolidated Statement of Earnings (Unaudited) | |||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | For the 13 weeks ended | For the 13 weeks ended | For the 26 weeks ended | For the 26 weeks ended | |||||||||||
| April 1, 2017 | April 2, 2016 | April 1, 2017 | April 2, 2016 | ||||||||||||
| Net sales | $877,436 | $915,069 | $1,838,595 | $1,887,934 | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | $64,491 | $70,485 | $135,607 | $143,866 | |||||||||||
| Percent of sales | 7.35% | 7.70% | 7.38% | 7.62% | |||||||||||
| Operating income (loss) | ($3,063) | ($316) | $1,595 | $2,915 | |||||||||||
| Net earnings (loss) from continuing operations | ($5,865) | ($5,056) | ($3,953) | ($6,733) | |||||||||||
| Net gain/(loss) from discontinued operations | ($2,006) | $331 | ($2,006) | $179 | |||||||||||
| Net earnings (loss) | ($7,871) | ($4,725) | ($5,959) | ($6,554) | |||||||||||
About Unified Grocers, Inc.
Founded in 1922, Unified Grocers is a retailer-owned wholesale grocery distributor that supplies independent retailers throughout the western United States. Unified and its subsidiaries offer independent retailers all the resources they need to compete in the supermarket industry.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future performance of Unified Grocers based on Management’s assumptions and beliefs in light of information currently available to it. There are a variety of factors that could cause actual and future results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements made above including the effects of entering into the merger agreement with Supervalu, the Company’s ability to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the merger, the risk that the merger will not be consummated within the expected time period or at all, the Company’s ability to grow operating income, provide sufficient operating capital and liquidity to fund operations and strategic initiatives, and grow sales through product differentiation. These factors and others are outlined in the Company’s Form 10-K and other interim reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, Unified undertakes no obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.