HOUSTON, Nov. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) today announced financial results for its 13-week first fiscal quarter ended October 1, 2022.

Key highlights for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 include:

• Continued market share gains and volume growth;
• Gross profit per case improved;
• Double-digit profit growth; and
• Continued investment for growth and return of capital to shareholders.

“Sysco began the fiscal year generating double-digit top-line and bottom-line growth, as we effectively managed inflation, increased case volume and grew market share. We remain on target to grow over 1.35 times the market for the year, as we continue to advance our Recipe For Growth strategy. Our enhanced customer-centric supply chain and selling capabilities will drive long-term returns for our investors,” said Kevin Hourican, Sysco’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “I want to thank our global colleagues for helping us to deliver on Sysco’s purpose of connecting the world to share food and care for one another.”

Key financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 include:

• Sales increased 16.2% versus the same period in fiscal year 2022;
• U.S. Foodservice volume increased 7.3% versus the same period in fiscal year 2022;
• Gross profit increased 17.4% to $3.5 billion, as compared to the same period last year;
• Operating income increased 16.3% to $734.3 million, and adjusted¹ operating income increased to $770.3 million, as compared to the same period last year;
• Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) increased to $908.0 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased to $916.9 million, in each case as compared to the same period last year;² and
• Earnings per share (“EPS”)³ increased to $0.91, as compared to $0.73 in the same period last year. Adjusted¹ EPS increased to $0.97, as compared to $0.83 in the same period last year.

“We delivered strong financials for the first quarter by continuing to make progress with our Recipe For Growth, while addressing operational improvement opportunities and operating in a dynamic environment. We are upbeat about our business, while remaining appropriately cautious about the macro-environment, and are reaffirming our expectations to grow adjusted EPS by 26% - 35%, to $4.09 - $4.39⁴, and to return $1.5 billion to our shareholders during fiscal year 2023,” said Aaron Alt, Sysco’s Chief Financial Officer.

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_{¹ Adjusted financial results, including adjusted operating income (loss), adjusted earnings per share (EPS) and adjusted EBITDA, are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain items, which primarily include acquisition-related costs, restructuring costs, transformational project costs, adjustments to our bad debt reserve specific to aged receivables existing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and adjustments to a product return allowance related to COVID-related personal protection equipment inventory. Specific to adjusted EPS, last year’s Certain Items include the impact of an increase in reserves for uncertain tax positions.
² EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of all non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest corresponding GAAP financial measure are included at the end of this release.
³ Earnings per share (EPS) are shown on a diluted basis, unless otherwise specified.
⁴ Adjusted EPS is a non-GAAP financial measure; however, we cannot predict with certainty the particular certain items that would be excluded from the calculation of this measure for future periods. Due to these uncertainties, we cannot provide a quantitative reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort. However, we expect to calculate adjusted earnings per share for future periods in the same manner as the reconciliations provided for the historical periods that are included at the end of this release.}

First Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Results

Total Sysco

Sales for the first quarter were $19.1 billion, an increase of 16.2% compared to the same period last year.

Gross profit increased 17.4% to $3.5 billion, gross margin increased 18 basis points to 18.2% and adjusted gross margin increased 17 basis points to 18.2%, compared in each case to the same period last year. Product cost inflation was 9.7% at the total enterprise level, as measured by the estimated change in Sysco’s product costs, primarily in the dairy and frozen categories. The increase in gross profit for the first quarter was primarily driven by higher volumes, the effective management of product cost inflation and progress against our partnership growth management initiatives.

Operating expenses increased $414.5 million, or 17.7%, compared to the same period last year, driven by increased volumes, cost inflation, continued operational pressures from the operating environment and our planned investments to drive our transformation initiatives. Adjusted operating expenses increased $429.4 million, or 18.8%, compared to the same period last year.

Operating income was $734.3 million, an increase of $102.7 million, or 16.3%, compared to the same period last year. Adjusted operating income was $770.3 million, an increase of $85.2 million compared to the same period last year.

U.S. Foodservice Operations

The U.S. Foodservice Operations segment generated strong sales growth, overall share gains and improved profitability.

Sales for the first quarter were $13.6 billion, an increase of 17.2% compared to the same period last year. Local case volume within U.S. Foodservice (reported for the first time to include the local volume from the U.S. FreshPoint produce operations and U.S. Italian businesses) grew 5.4% for the first quarter, while total case volume within U.S. Foodservice (also reported to include the FreshPoint and Italian businesses) grew 7.3%, in each case as compared to the same period last year.

Gross profit increased 19.5% to $2.6 billion, and gross margin increased 37 basis points to 19.2%, compared in each case to the same period last year. Product cost inflation was 12.0% in U.S. Broadline, as measured by the estimated change in Sysco’s product costs, primarily in the dairy and frozen categories.

Operating expenses increased $320.9 million, or 23.1%, compared to the same period last year. Adjusted operating expenses increased $309.2 million, or 22.3%, compared to the same period last year.

Operating income was $903.8 million, an increase of $106.3 million compared to the same period last year. Adjusted operating income was $913.8 million, an increase of $118.0 million compared to the same period last year.

International Foodservice Operations

The International Foodservice Operations segment delivered strong sales and significant profit growth, exceeding pre-COVID 2019 profit levels.

Sales for the first quarter were $3.3 billion, an increase of 13.4% compared to the same period last year. On a constant currency basis⁵, sales for the first quarter were $3.6 billion, an increase of 24.3% compared to the same period last year. Foreign exchange rates decreased both International Foodservice Operations sales by 10.9% and total Sysco sales by 2.0% during the quarter.

Gross profit increased 10.2% to $649.3 million, and gross margin decreased 58 basis points to 19.8%, compared in each case to the same period last year. On a constant currency basis⁵, gross profit increased 22.4% to $721.0 million. Foreign exchange rates decreased both International Foodservice Operations gross profit by 12.2% and total Sysco gross profit by 2.5% during the quarter.

Operating expenses increased $9.6 million, or 1.7%, compared to the same period last year. Adjusted operating expenses increased $17.1 million, or 3.3%, compared to the same period last year. On a constant currency basis⁵, adjusted operating expenses increased $81.8 million, or 15.6%, compared to the same period last year. Foreign exchange rates decreased both International Foodservice Operations operating expenses by 12.3% and total Sysco operating expenses by 3.1% during the quarter.

Operating income was $87.2 million, an improvement of $50.5 million compared to the same period last year. Adjusted operating income increased $43.0 million compared to the same period last year. On a constant currency basis⁵, adjusted operating income was $114.2 million, an increase of $50.1 million compared to the same period last year. Foreign exchange rates decreased both International Foodservice Operations operating income by $7.1 million and total Sysco operating income by $2.3 million during the quarter.

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_{⁵ Represents a constant currency adjustment, which eliminates the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on current year results. These adjusted measures are non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of all non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest corresponding GAAP financial measure are included at the end of this release.}

Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Capital Spending

As of the end of the quarter, the company had a cash balance of $437.7 million and approximately $10.8 billion of debt outstanding.

During the first 13 weeks of fiscal 2023, Sysco returned $517.0 million to shareholders via $267.7 million of share repurchases and $249.3 million of dividends.

Cash flow from operations was $158.6 million for the first 13 weeks of fiscal 2023, which was $47.8 million higher compared to the prior year period.

Capital expenditures, net of proceeds from sales of plant and equipment, for the first 13 weeks of fiscal 2023 were $144.8 million.

Free cash flow⁶ for the first 13 weeks of fiscal 2023 was $13.8 million.

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_{⁶ Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents net cash provided from operating activities less purchases of plant and equipment and includes proceeds from sales of plant and equipment. Reconciliations for all non-GAAP financial measures are included at the end of this release.}

Conference Call & Webcast

Sysco will host a conference call to review the company’s first quarter and full fiscal year 2023 financial results on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. A live webcast of the call, accompanying slide presentation and a copy of this news release will be available online at investors.sysco.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this press release or in our earnings call for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 that look forward in time or that express management’s beliefs, expectations or hopes are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements reflect the views of management at the time such statements are made and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, estimates, and assumptions that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. These statements include statements concerning: the effect, impact, potential duration or other implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and any expectations we may have with respect thereto; our expectations regarding future improvements in productivity; our belief that improvements in our organizational capabilities will deliver compelling outcomes in future periods; our expectations regarding improvements in international volume; our expectations that our transformational agenda will drive long-term growth; our expectations regarding the continuation of an inflationary environment; our expectations regarding improvements in the efficiency of our supply chain; our expectations regarding the impact of our Recipe for Growth strategy and the pace of progress in implementing the initiatives under that strategy; our expectations regarding Sysco’s ability to outperform the market in future periods; our expectations that our strategic priorities will enable us to grow faster than the market; our expectations regarding our efforts to reduce overtime rates and the incremental investments in hiring; our expectations regarding the expansion of our driver academy and our belief that the academy will enable us to provide upward career path mobility for our warehouse associates and improve associate retention; our expectations regarding the benefits of the six-day delivery model; our plans to improve the capabilities of our sales team; our expectations regarding the impact of our growth initiatives and their ability to enable Sysco to consistently outperform the market; our expectations regarding the impact of the Coastal Companies acquisition on our business; our expectations regarding our ability to grow faster than the total market in fiscal 2023 and to exceed our growth target by the end of fiscal 2024; our ability to deliver against our strategic priorities; economic trends in the United States and abroad; our plans to make continued capital investments over the next three fiscal years in our technology, fleet and buildings; our belief that there is further opportunity for profit in the future; our future growth, including growth in sales and earnings per share; our expectations regarding profits and sales in fiscal 2023; the pace of implementation of our business transformation initiatives; our expectations regarding our balanced approach to capital allocation and rewarding our shareholders; our plans to improve associate retention, training and productivity; our belief that our Recipe for Growth transformation is creating capabilities that will help us profitably grow for the long term; our expectations regarding our long-term financial outlook; and our expectations regarding additional improvements from snap-back costs and productivity expenses during the fiscal first quarter.

It is important to note that actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements based on numerous factors, including those outside of Sysco’s control. For more information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or forecasted, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 2, 2022, as filed with the SEC, and our subsequent filings with the SEC. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

About Sysco

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 71,000 associates, the company operates 333 distribution facilities worldwide and serves approximately 700,000 customer locations. For fiscal year 2022 that ended July 2, 2022, the company generated sales of more than $68 billion. Information about our CSR program, including Sysco’s 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, can be found at sysco.com/csr2021report.

For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoFoods. For important news and information regarding Sysco, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s Internet home page at investors.sysco.com, which Sysco plans to use as a primary channel for publishing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. In addition, investors should continue to review our news releases and filings with the SEC. It is possible that the information we disclose through any of these channels of distribution could be deemed to be material information.

Sysco Corporation and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)
Impact of Certain Items

Our discussion of our results includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, that we believe provide important perspective with respect to underlying business trends. Other than free cash flow and EBITDA, any non-GAAP financial measures will be denoted as adjusted measures to remove the impact of: (1) restructuring and transformational project costs consisting of: (a) restructuring charges, (b) expenses associated with our various transformation initiatives and (c) facility closure and severance charges; (2) acquisition-related costs consisting of: (a) intangible amortization expense and (b) acquisition costs and due diligence costs related to our acquisitions; and (3) the reduction of bad debt expense previously recognized in fiscal 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the collectability of our pre-pandemic trade receivable balances. Our results for fiscal 2023 were also impacted by adjustments to a product return allowance related to COVID-related personal protection equipment inventory. Our results for fiscal 2022 were also impacted by an increase in reserves for uncertain tax positions.  

The results of our foreign operations can be impacted due to changes in exchange rates applicable in converting local currencies to U.S. dollars. We measure our total Sysco and our International Foodservice Operations results on a constant currency basis. Constant currency operating results are calculated by translating current-period local currency operating results with the currency exchange rates used to translate the financial statements in the comparable prior-year period to determine what the current-period U.S. dollar operating results would have been if the currency exchange rate had not changed from the comparable prior-year period.  

Management believes that adjusting its operating expenses, operating income, net earnings and diluted earnings per share to remove these Certain Items and presenting its International Foodservice Operations results on a constant currency basis, provides an important perspective with respect to our underlying business trends and results and provides meaningful supplemental information to both management and investors that (1) is indicative of the performance of the company’s underlying operations and (2) facilitates comparisons on a year-over-year basis.  

Sysco has a history of growth through acquisitions and excludes from its non-GAAP financial measures the impact of acquisition-related intangible amortization, acquisition costs and due-diligence costs for those acquisitions. We believe this approach significantly enhances the comparability of Sysco’s results for fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022.  

Set forth below is a reconciliation of sales, operating expenses, operating income, net earnings and diluted earnings per share to adjusted results for these measures for the periods presented. Individual components of diluted earnings per share may not add up to the total presented due to rounding. Adjusted diluted earnings per share is calculated using adjusted net earnings divided by diluted shares outstanding.

Sysco Corporation and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)
Free Cash Flow
(In Thousands)

Free cash flow represents net cash provided from operating activities less purchases of plant and equipment and includes proceeds from sales of plant and equipment. Sysco considers free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business after the purchases and sales of buildings, fleet, equipment and technology, which may potentially be used to pay for, among other things, strategic uses of cash including dividend payments, share repurchases and acquisitions. However, free cash flow may not be available for discretionary expenditures, as it may be necessary that we use it to make mandatory debt service or other payments. Free cash flow should not be used as a substitute for the most comparable GAAP financial measure in assessing the company’s liquidity for the periods presented. An analysis of any non-GAAP financial measure should be used in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. In the table that follows, free cash flow for each period presented is reconciled to net cash provided by operating activities.

Sysco Corporation and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)
Impact of Certain Items on Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)
(Dollars in Thousands)

EBITDA represents net earnings (loss) plus (i) interest expense, (ii) income tax expense and benefit, (iii) depreciation and (iv) amortization. The net earnings (loss) component of our EBITDA calculation is impacted by Certain Items that we do not consider representative of our underlying performance. As a result, in the non-GAAP reconciliations below for each period presented, adjusted EBITDA is computed as EBITDA plus the impact of Certain Items, excluding certain items related to interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. Sysco's management considers growth in this metric to be a measure of overall financial performance that provides useful information to management and investors about the profitability of the business, as it facilitates comparison of performance on a consistent basis from period to period by providing a measurement of recurring factors and trends affecting our business. Additionally, it is a commonly used component metric used to inform on capital structure decisions. Adjusted EBITDA should not be used as a substitute for the most comparable GAAP financial measure in assessing the company’s financial performance for the periods presented. An analysis of any non-GAAP financial measure should be used in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. In the tables that follow, adjusted EBITDA for each period presented is reconciled to net earnings.

Projected Adjusted EPS Guidance

Adjusted earnings per share is a non-GAAP financial measure; however, we cannot predict with certainty certain items that would be included in the most directly comparable GAAP measure for the relevant future periods. Due to these uncertainties, we cannot provide a quantitative reconciliation of projected adjusted EPS to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort. However, we expect to calculate adjusted earnings per share for future periods in the same manner as the reconciliations provided for the historical periods herein.