| Fewer available jobs coupled with less attrition resulted in lower net sales of uniforms stated CEO Michael Benstock |
Net sales for the 2009 first quarter were $23,716,094 compared to the 2008 first quarter sales of $33,282,630.
Superior Uniform Group, Inc., manufacturer of uniforms, career apparel and accessories, announced that for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009, loss from continuing operations was $(502,945) or $(0.08) per share (diluted) compared to earnings from continuing operations of $914,808 or $.14 per share (diluted) reported for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. Net sales for the 2009 first quarter were $23,716,094 compared with 2008 first quarter sales of $33,282,630.
In making the earnings announcement, Michael Benstock, Chief Executive Officer, stated: “The current economic environment in the United States has been more challenging than almost any time in our 85 plus years in business. Our customers are delaying expansions, reducing locations, reducing headcounts and experiencing lower employee turnover than ever.”
“To sum it up, fewer available jobs coupled with less attrition results in lower net sales of uniforms. Additionally, our customers are being more cost conscious and are delaying purchases of new uniforms whenever possible. As a result of these significant declines in our revenue, we have implemented aggressive cost reduction initiatives to limit the impact on our results of operations.”
“These initiatives are aimed at eliminating non-essential positions, streamlining our existing processes and shifting administrative positions to our Central American subsidiary where possible. As a result of these initiatives, we have eliminated approximately $3.8 million in payroll and related benefits on an annual basis. These specific initiatives were started during the first quarter of 2009 and are expected to produce total payroll related savings during fiscal 2009 of approximately $2.9 million. These initiatives are in addition to prior year staff reductions and tight operating expense controls that we have implemented.”
“We generated over $5.5 million in cash from operations in the first quarter of 2009. We were able to eliminate all of our outstanding debt as of the end of the quarter. We remain focused on generating positive cash flows through both expense control and working capital management. Our current position of financial strength will allow us to weather the current economic environment while still being able to support our long-term growth initiatives to strengthen our performance and maintaining our priority of providing superior service to our customers. We are pursuing potential strategic acquisitions to help achieve these objectives. Finally, we remain committed to reacquiring shares of our common stock. We have an active repurchase program with an outstanding authorization to repurchase an additional 570,000 shares as of March 31, 2009.”