UNIFIRST CORPORATION SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and any documents incorporated by reference may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and any documents incorporated by reference are subject to the safe harbor created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "estimates," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," "expects," "intends," "believes," "seeks," "could," "should," "may," "will," "strategy," "objective," "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 inMexico andNicaragua 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 inSecurities 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 "Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year endedAugust 28, 2021 and in our other filings with theSecurities and Exchange Commission , including, without limitation, under "Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which they are made.
Business Overview
UniFirst Corporation , together with its subsidiaries, hereunder referred to as "we", "our", the "Company", or "UniFirst", is one of the largest providers of workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing inthe United States . We design, manufacture, personalize, rent, clean, deliver, and sell a wide range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, aprons and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments. We also rent and sell industrial wiping products, floor mats, facility service products and other non-garment items, and provide restroom and cleaning supplies and first aid cabinet services and other safety supplies as well as provide certain safety training to a variety of manufacturers, retailers and service companies. We serve businesses of all sizes in numerous industry categories. Typical customers include automobile service centers and dealers, delivery services, food and general merchandise retailers, food processors and service operations, light manufacturers, maintenance facilities, restaurants, service companies, soft and durable goods wholesalers, transportation companies, healthcare providers and others who require employee clothing for image, identification, protection or utility purposes. We also provide our customers with restroom and cleaning supplies, including air fresheners, paper products and hand soaps. 20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At certain specialized facilities, we also decontaminate and clean work clothes and other items that may have been exposed to radioactive materials and service special cleanroom protective wear and facilities. Typical customers for these specialized services include government agencies, research and development laboratories, high technology companies and utilities operating nuclear reactors. We continue to expand into additional geographic markets through acquisitions and organic growth. We currently service over 300,000 customer locations inthe United States ,Canada andEurope from over 260 customer service, distribution and manufacturing facilities. As mentioned and described in Note 16 to our Consolidated Financial Statements, we have five reporting segments:U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, MFG, Corporate, Specialty Garments and First Aid. We refer to the laundry locations of theU.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning reporting segment as "industrial laundries" or "industrial laundry locations", and to theU.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, MFG, and Corporate reporting segments combined as our "Core Laundry Operations."
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The discussion of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon the Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in conformity withUnited States generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP"). As such, management is required to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that are believed to be reasonable based on the information available. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Critical accounting policies are defined as those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties, the most important and pervasive accounting policies used and areas most sensitive to material changes from external factors. The critical accounting estimates that we believe affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements presented in this report are described in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year endedAugust 28, 2021 .
COVID-19 Assessment
The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the countries in which we operate. Developments continue to occur rapidly, including the recent emergence and spread of new COVID-19 variants. Our revenues in the first half of fiscal 2021 were significantly adversely impacted as a result of many customers closing their businesses or operating at limited capacities. If customers were to again be forced to close or limit operations as new COVID-19 outbreaks occur, any such closures or reductions in operating levels could have a significant adverse impact on our business. At times during the pandemic, we have also experienced supply chain disruptions with respect to certain products, including hand sanitizer and masks. Such disruptions continue to occur but have moderated to some extent more recently. We remain focused on the safety and well-being of our team partners and on the service of our customers. We will continue to review and assess the rapidly-changing COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on our team partners, our customers, our suppliers and our business so that we can seek to address the impacts on our business and service our customers. We have assessed the current impact of COVID-19 on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows, as well as our estimates and accounting policies. We have made additional disclosures of these assessments, as necessary. Given the unprecedented nature of this situation, including the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, we cannot reasonably estimate the full extent or duration of the impact COVID-19 will have on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows in the foreseeable future. The ultimate impact of COVID-19 on the Company is highly uncertain and will depend on future developments, and such impacts could exist for an extended period of time, even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. As ofNovember 27, 2021 , our cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments were$478.1 million . We also have access to significant borrowing capacity under our unsecured revolving credit facility, which we believe, together with our cash balances, will continue to help us manage the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and address related liquidity needs. Please see "Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year endedAugust 28, 2021 for an additional discussion of risks and potential risks of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition and results of operations. 21
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Results of Operations
The following table presents certain selected financial data, including the
percentage of revenues represented by each item, for the thirteen weeks ended
Thirteen weeks ended
(In thousands, except % of % of %
percentages) November 27, 2021 Revenues November 28, 2020 Revenues Change
Revenues $ 486,164 100.0 % $ 446,853 100.0 % 8.8 %
Operating expenses:
Cost of revenues (1) 310,130 63.8 275,800 61.7 12.4
Selling and administrative
expenses (1) 104,388 21.5 88,703 19.9 17.7
Depreciation and
amortization 26,856 5.5 26,308 5.9 2.1
Total operating expenses 441,374 90.8 390,811 87.5 12.9
Operating income 44,790 9.2 56,042 12.5 (20.1 )
Other expense, net 88 0.0 181 0.0 (51.4 )
Income before income taxes 44,702 9.2 55,861 12.5 (20.0 )
Provision for income taxes 10,997 2.3 13,965 3.1 (21.3 )
Net income $ 33,705 6.9 % $ 41,896 9.4 % (19.6 )%
(1) Exclusive of depreciation on our property, plant and equipment and
amortization on our intangible assets.
General
We derive our revenues through the design, manufacture, personalization, rental, cleaning, delivering, and selling of a wide range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks and aprons and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments. We also rent industrial wiping products, floor mats, facility service products, other non-garment items, and provide restroom and cleaning supplies and first aid cabinet services and other safety supplies, to a variety of manufacturers, retailers and service companies. We have five reporting segments,U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, MFG, Specialty Garments, First Aid and Corporate. We refer to theU.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, MFG, and Corporate reporting segments combined as our "Core Laundry Operations." Cost of revenues include the amortization of rental merchandise in service and merchandise costs related to direct sales as well as labor and other production, service and delivery costs and distribution costs associated with operating our Core Laundry Operations, Specialty Garments facilities and First Aid locations. Selling and administrative costs include costs related to our sales and marketing functions as well as general and administrative costs associated with our corporate offices, non-operating environmental sites and operating locations including information systems, engineering, materials management, manufacturing planning, finance, budgeting and human resources.
Our results of operations may also be adversely impacted by the decline in the Canadian exchange rate.
Our business is subject to various state and federal regulations, including employment laws and regulations, minimum wage requirements, overtime requirements, working condition requirements, citizenship requirements, healthcare insurance mandates and other laws and regulations that impact our labor costs. Labor costs have increased recently as a result of increases in state and local minimum wage levels as well as the overall impact of wage pressure as the result of a low unemployment environment. In fiscal 2018, we initiated a multiyear CRM project to further develop, implement and deploy a third-party application we licensed. This new solution improves functionality, capability and information flow as well as increases automation in servicing our customers. As ofNovember 27, 2021 , we have capitalized$35.9 million related to this CRM project. We began deployment of our new CRM project during the second half of fiscal 2021 and anticipate this will continue through fiscal 2022 and 2023. We are depreciating this system over a 10-year life and recognized$0.7 million of amortization expense during the thirteen weeks endedNovember 27, 2021 . 22 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thirteen weeks ended
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