United Natural Foods (NASDAQ:UNFI) (UNFI), the main supplier to Whole Foods Market, has reported a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss on sales that fell short of expectations.
The Providence, Rhode Island-based wholesale foods distributor also guided for a bigger full-year net loss, sending its share lower in early Wednesday morning trading.
Net sales for the quarter ended October 28, 2023, increased by 0.3% to $7.552 billion, just shy of the $7.612 billion consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts.
It reported an adjusted loss of $0.04 per share, down from earnings of $1.13 a year earlier but better than the $0.26 loss expected by analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research.
UNFI said operational improvements over the quarter helped deliver savings, resulting in a performance that exceeded its expectations.
“As we work to restore profitability in the near term, we also continue to make progress on our multi-year transformation agenda designed to enhance shareholder value by structurally improving our capabilities, efficiency and profitability while meaningfully enhancing the customer and supplier experience,” CEO Sandy Douglas commented in a statement.
The company has maintained its outlook for full-year net sales at $30.9 billion to $31.5 billion, while adjusted earnings per share are still expected to range from a loss of $0.88 to earnings of $0.38.
However, it now expects a net loss of between $46 million and $120 million, up from $36-$110 million previously, reflecting non-cash asset charges.
The company’s shares were down 3% at $15.83 in early deals, taking losses so far for 2023 to 59%.
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