United Natural Foods Releases Strong Q4 and 2014 Full Year Financial Report

PROVIDENCE, RI

United Natural Foods Inc released an excellent Q4 and 2014 full year report last week, highlighted by increases in net sales, net income, and earnings per share.

"Fiscal 2014 was a record year for UNFI from both a sales and earnings per share growth perspective, with earnings per share increasing by approximately 16%," shared Steven Spinner, President and Chief Executive Officer. "As we look forward to fiscal 2015, we believe we are well-positioned to capitalize on new business opportunities and to continue to pursue additional merger and acquisition opportunities aligned with our strategy and our investment in new capacity."

Some highlights for the Q4 report were:

• An increase in net sales of 15.8% to $1.76 billion, compared to the same period from last year, excluding the 53rd week in fiscal 2013.
• An increase in net income by 4.0% to $33.4 million, compared to the same period from last year.
• An increase in diluted earnings per share by 3.1% to $0.67, compared to $0.65 from the same period from last year.

Some highlights from the 2014 full year fiscal report were:

• An increase in net sales by 14.3% to $6.79 billion, excluding the 53rd week of fiscal 2013, compared to the same period from last year.
• An increase in operating income by 13.6% to $210.8 million compared to $185.5 million in fiscal 2013.
• An increase in diluted earnings per share by 15.6% to $2.52, compared to $2.18 in fiscal 2013.

"During fiscal 2014, UNFI continued to enhance its product offering through the acquisition of Tony's Fine Foods while building out capacity and infrastructure. These initiatives will serve us well as consumers and retailers continue to demand our natural, organic, ethnic and specialty SKUs," concluded Spinner.

Going forward, United Natural Foods' forward looking guidance is similarly strong. According to a press release, the company expects net sales to increase 19.7% to 23.7% to $8.13 to $8.38 billion. GAAP earnings per diluted share are also expected to increase by 14.3% to 19.4% to $2.88 to $3.01.

What a great way to end the 2014 fiscal year. Congratulations on this strong financial report, United Natural Foods!

United Natural Foods Inc