WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) -- UniFirst posted a 50 percent jump in third-quarter profit Wednesday after the uniform maker's sales increased and it logged a one-time gain from a legal settlement.
The results beat Wall Street predictions and UniFirst raised its profit and revenue predictions for the full year. Its shares rose nearly 10 percent in morning trading to an all-time high.
For the quarter ended May 26, the Wilmington, Mass., company earned $27.5 million, or $1.37 per share, up 49 percent from $18.4 million, or 93 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
Excluding a one-time gain of $6.7 million stemming from a settlement related to environmental litigation, the company posted an adjusted profit of $1.16 per share for the recent quarter.
Revenue rose 10 percent to $320.9 million from $291.6 million, as revenue at the company's core laundry operations grew 12 percent to $281.1 million.
Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 99 cents per share on $311.7 million in revenue, according to a FactSet poll. Analysts' estimates usually exclude one-time gains and losses.
UniFirst said that as a percentage of revenue, its expenses related to plant operations, depreciation, energy and overall selling and administrative outlays all fell compared with the same quarter last year. But those improvements were partially offset by higher merchandise costs and expenses related to the updating of customer service systems.
Based on its results so far this year and expectations for the fourth quarter, UniFirst said it now expects to post a profit of between $4.60 and $4.70 per share on $1.25 billion and $1.26 billion in revenue.
When it released its fiscal second-quarter results in March, the company projected a profit of $4.10 to $4.25 per share on $1.24 billion to $1.25 billion in revenue.
Analysts polled by FactSet expect a profit of $4.19 per share on $1.24 billion in revenue.
Shares of UniFirst Corp. rose $5.19 to $62.59 in morning trading, after peaking at $63.20. That exceeded the previous high reached in March.
