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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 21, 2020

 

UNIFIRST CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Massachusetts	001-08504		04-2103460
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)
68 Jonspin Road, Wilmington, Massachusetts		01887
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (978) 658-8888

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instructions A.2. below):

☐	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class	Trading symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.10 par value per share	UNF	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

 

 

 

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Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On October 21, 2020, UniFirst Corporation (the “Company”) issued a press release (“Press Release”) announcing financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, which ended on August 29, 2020. A copy of the Press Release is attached as Exhibit 99 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

The information in this Item 2.02, including the exhibit attached hereto, shall not be deemed “filed” for any purpose, including for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.

 

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

 

Exhibit Number		Description
99		Press release of the Company dated October 21, 2020
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

 

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

		UNIFIRST CORPORATION
Date: October 21, 2020		By:	/s/ Steven S. Sintros
			Steven S. Sintros
			President and Chief Executive Officer
		By:	/s/ Shane O’Connor
			Shane O’Connor
			Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99

 

Investor Relations Contact

Shane O’Connor, Senior Vice President & CFO

UniFirst Corporation

978-658-8888

shane_oconnor@unifirst.com

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

UNIFIRST ANNOUNCES FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR OF FISCAL 2020

Wilmington, MA – October 21, 2020 – UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) (the “Company”) today reported results for its fourth quarter and full year ended August 29, 2020, as compared to the comparable periods in its prior fiscal year. The fourth quarter as well as the full year in fiscal 2019 included an extra week as compared to fiscal 2020.

Q4 2020 Financial Highlights

 

Steven Sintros, UniFirst President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Overall, we are pleased with our results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year given the headwinds that we faced during this unprecedented time in our history.  Our ability to continue generating solid results and strong cash flows speaks to the resiliency of our Company and the value of the products and services that we provide to our customers.  I want to again sincerely thank our Team Partners for the tremendous effort they put forth and continue to put forth ensuring that they are taking care of each other and our customers during these challenging times.  They truly continue to deliver in every way.”

Fiscal 2020 Financial Highlights

 

Operating income in fiscal 2019 benefited from a pre-tax gain of $21.1 million, which was recorded in selling and administrative expenses. This amount reflects a settlement with the lead contractor for the version of the customer relationship management system for which the Company recorded a $55.8 million impairment charge in fiscal 2017 (the “CRM Settlement”).  Excluding the impact of the CRM Settlement:

 

See the Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures below.

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Segment Reporting Highlights for Q4 2020

Core Laundry Operations

 

Specialty Garments

Balance Sheet and Capital Allocation

 

Financial Outlook

Mr. Sintros continued, “Due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our communities, we will only be providing guidance for our fiscal 2021 first quarter at this time. We currently expect our revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 to be between $433.0 million and $443.0 million and diluted earnings per share to be between $1.55 and $1.70. Although our visibility is limited, we do expect showing growth for the full year to be a challenge based on the impact of the pandemic as well as the related impact on the demand for oil and the energy dependent markets that we serve.  In fiscal 2021, our strong balance sheet and cash flows will continue to empower us to invest in our long-term strategic initiatives.”

Financial Outlook Highlights and Assumptions

 

Conference Call Information

UniFirst will hold a conference call today at 9:00 a.m. (ET) to discuss its quarterly and annual financial results, business highlights and outlook. A simultaneous live webcast of the call will be available over the Internet and can be accessed at www.unifirst.com.

About UniFirst Corporation

Headquartered in Wilmington, Mass., UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) is a North American leader in the supply and servicing of uniform and workwear programs, as well as the delivery of facility service programs. Together with its subsidiaries, the company also provides first aid and safety products, and manages specialized garment programs for the cleanroom and nuclear industries. UniFirst manufactures its own branded workwear, protective clothing, and floorcare products; and with over 260 service locations, over 300,000

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customer locations, and 14,000-plus employee Team Partners, the company outfits nearly 2 million workers each business day. For more information, contact UniFirst at 800.455.7654 or visit UniFirst.com.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure

This public announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and financial performance, including projected revenues and earnings per share. Forward-looking statements contained in this public announcement are subject to the safe harbor created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and may be identified by words such as “estimates,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “could,” “should,” “may,” “will,” “strategy,” “objective,” “positions,” “assume,” “strive,” or the negative versions thereof, and similar expressions and by the context in which they are used. Such forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date made. Such statements are highly dependent upon a variety of risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, uncertainties caused by adverse economic conditions, including, without limitation, as a result of extraordinary events or circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on our customers’ businesses and workforce levels, disruptions of our business and operations, including limitations on, or closures of, our facilities, or the business and operations of our customers or suppliers in connection with extraordinary events or circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainties regarding our ability to consummate and successfully integrate acquired businesses, uncertainties regarding any existing or newly-discovered expenses and liabilities related to environmental compliance and remediation, any adverse outcome of pending or future contingencies or claims, our ability to compete successfully without any significant degradation in our margin rates, seasonal and quarterly fluctuations in business levels, our ability to preserve positive labor relationships and avoid becoming the target of corporate labor unionization campaigns that could disrupt our business, the effect of currency fluctuations on our results of operations and financial condition, our dependence on third parties to supply us with raw materials, which such supply could be severely disrupted as a result of extraordinary events or circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, any loss of key management or other personnel, increased costs as a result of any changes in federal or state laws, rules and regulations or governmental interpretation of such laws, rules and regulations, uncertainties regarding the price levels of natural gas, electricity, fuel and labor, the negative effect on our business from sharply depressed oil and natural gas prices, including, without limitation, as a result of extraordinary events or circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuing increase in domestic healthcare costs, increased workers’ compensation claim costs, increased healthcare claim costs, including as a result of extraordinary events or circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to retain and grow our customer base, demand and prices for our products and services, fluctuations in our Specialty Garments business, political instability, supply chain disruption or infection among our employees in Mexico and Nicaragua where our principal garment manufacturing plants are located, including, without limitation, as a result of extraordinary events or circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to properly and efficiently design, construct, implement and operate a new customer relationship management (“CRM”) computer system, interruptions or failures of our information technology systems, including as a result of cyber-attacks, additional professional and internal costs necessary for compliance with any changes in Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Stock Exchange and accounting rules, strikes and unemployment levels, our efforts to evaluate and potentially reduce internal costs, economic and other developments associated with the war on terrorism and its impact on the economy, the impact of foreign trade policies and tariffs or other impositions on imported goods on our business, results of operations and financial condition, general economic conditions, our ability to successfully implement our business strategies and processes, including our capital allocation strategies and the other factors described under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2019, “Item 1.A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which they are made.

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Consolidated Statements of Income

(Unaudited)

 

 

(1) Exclusive of depreciation on the Company’s property, plant and equipment and amortization on its intangible assets.

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Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

 

 

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Detail of Operating Results

(Unaudited)

 

Revenues

 

 

Operating Income

 

 

Operating Margin

 

 

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Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

 

 

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Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company reports its consolidated financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). To supplement these consolidated financial results, management believes that certain non-GAAP operating results provide a more meaningful measure on which to compare the Company’s results of operations for the periods presented. The Company believes these non-GAAP results provide useful supplemental information regarding the Company’s performance to both management and investors by excluding certain non-recurring amounts that impact the comparability of the results. A supplemental reconciliation of fiscal 2019 consolidated operating income, net income and earnings per diluted share on a GAAP basis to adjusted operating income, net income and earnings per diluted share on a non-GAAP basis is presented in the following table. In addition, Core Laundry Operations operating income and operating margin on a GAAP basis to adjusted operating income and adjusted operating margin on a non-GAAP basis is also  presented in the following table. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, which is provided below.