Clear signs of recovery: Uni-Select business update

Uni-Select Inc. says key metrics in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. are showing clear signs of recovery after a difficult second quarter this year.

The company’s latest business update, covering July and August, show traffic levels in Canada are getting closer to the 2019 level.

Uni-Select also observed improving market conditions in the U.S. where claim counts are gradually recovering, and the U.K. where transport use has essentially returned to more normalized levels.

“Market conditions in all three of our segments have improved sequentially since the trough set in April which is encouraging in the current context,” said Uni-Select Inc. president and CEO Brent Windom. “In turn, our monthly organic sales growth has mirrored the improvement in the market.”

He said the Canadian Automotive Group and the Parts Alliance U.K. business segments are returning to historical sales levels at a faster rate than the refinish sector FinishMaster U.S., overall demonstrating the resiliency of our automotive aftermarket businesses.

The company’s own sales trend has improved progressively month after month to reach -10.9% in August since the -45.8% trough experienced in April.

In terms of cost savings, the company’s Continuous Improvement Plan had realized over 90% of the targeted $28 million of annualized cost savings through August.

Driven by better than expected operations, Uni-Select was able to further improve its access to liquidity to reach over $200 million, up from $182 million at the end of the second quarter.

Further information will be provided in our third quarter results which will be released November 13, 2020.