UniFirst Seizes Significant Opportunities Ahead with Strong Q3 Performance
UniFirst Corporation, a leading provider of workwear, facility services, and first aid and safety solutions, reported strong third-quarter results for fiscal year 2025. The company's President and Chief Executive Officer, Steven Sintros, welcomed investors to the conference call to review the quarter's performance.
"I'm pleased with the progress we continue to make in the areas of operational execution and gross margin enhancement," said Sintros. "Core Laundry Operations, key operational costs, continue to trend favorably, which benefits being recognized in both merchandise and plant production expenses."
UniFirst's consolidated revenues for the quarter came in at $610.8 million, a 1.2% increase from fiscal '24. The company attributed this growth to improvements in gross margin, as well as several unusual items that impacted profitability. Sintros highlighted the benefits of UniFirst's strategy to invest in its people, technology, and infrastructure, which will take time to be fully realized but is expected to drive significant shareholder value.
"We are pleased with the progress we continue to make in operational execution and gross margin enhancement," said Sintros. "Our team continues to focus on investing in our people, technology and infrastructure, to further enable growth and profitability."
The company's efforts to improve diversification within its supply chain have positioned it well to navigate the disruption caused by newly imposed tariffs. While UniFirst has not experienced significant headwinds from these tariffs, the company is seeing some vendors increase prices related to their additional sourcing costs.
"We will continue to provide updates on this situation in the coming quarters," said Sintros. "However, we believe we have positioned ourselves well to navigate the disruption."
From a top-line perspective, UniFirst reported positive performance trends from both its sales and service organizations in the quarter. The company installed more new business than a year ago by a solid margin and experienced improved customer retention compared to the third quarter of 2024.
"However, a pricing environment that continues to be challenging, as well as some incremental softness in our customer wearer levels, has limited our ability to build more top-line momentum," said Sintros. "We will continue to focus on investments in the business that will enhance our ability to attract new customers, sell additional products to our existing customers, and improve our customers' experience and drive improved retention."
