Uni-Select reports better-than-anticipated sales

Uni-Select says its operating performance this spring was better than anticipated, with sales for April and May as well as cash management exceeding internal forecast set in late March.

The company’s most recent business update, released earlier this week, says early responses to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in all operating units performing either in line with their respective markets or ahead.

“We are very proud of how the entire organization successfully implemented the actions required to deal with the impacts of the pandemic that hit all of us over the past three months, enabling us to adjust quickly, to continue to serve our customers and resulting in a much better performance than anticipated at the end of March,” said Brent Windom, president and chief executive officer of Uni-Select Inc.

“Strong cash management and a renegotiation of our credit facilities has ensured that we have the liquidity required to manage through this period and for the longer term. We are equally appreciative of the collaboration with our customers and suppliers as we work together through these changing times.”

He said the steps taken over the past few months have stabilized the businesses and are now allowing the company to focus attention on its Continuous Improvement Plan, originally announced before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plan offers a long-term approach to improving the productivity and efficiency of the company’s three businesses while ensuring that the needs of customers remain the focus.

Uni-Select’s Performance Improvement Plan, which began in 2018 and was completed in Q1 2020, generated $53 million in annualized savings. The Continuous Improvement Plan is expected to generate a further $28 to $30 million in annualized savings. Uni-Select expects to record restructuring and other one-time charges of approximately $20 million in 2020 mainly due to right-sizing initiatives.

“Despite the challenges related to the COVID-19 crisis, the focus and commitment of our teams has been unwavering. We could not be prouder of what we have accomplished so far and we are confident we will deliver on the Continuous Improvement Plan as we did with the previous plan,” Windom said.

www.uniselect.com