US Foods (NYSE: USFD) reported Q1 EPS of $0.15, $0.13 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.28. Revenue for the quarter came in at $6.3 billion versus the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion.

First Quarter Fiscal 2020 Highlights

• Total case volume increased 3.4%; independent restaurant case volume increased 0.5%
• Total organic case volume decreased 7.3%; independent restaurant organic case volume decreased 7.4%
• Net sales increased 5.1% to $6.3 billion
• Gross profit increased 1.3% to $1.1 billion
• Loss before income taxes was $172 million
• Net loss was $132 million
• Adjusted EBITDA decreased 23.7% to $177 million
• Diluted EPS loss was $0.60; Adjusted Diluted EPS decreased $0.26 to $0.15

CEO Perspective

"The past two months have been challenging for our customers, associates and the communities we support. Our first priority continues to be the health and well-being of our associates and customers. I am extremely proud of the outstanding effort and commitment our associates have exhibited during this difficult time," said Pietro Satriano, Chairman and CEO. "We have taken a number of actions to strengthen our financial position and enable us to weather an extended economic downturn, including reducing costs and bolstering liquidity. We’ve developed partnerships with more than 30 retail institutions to provide products and labor as we explore new channels and look to support the increase in retail demand. I am confident US Foods will emerge from this unprecedented situation as a stronger competitor, well positioned to continue to gain market share."

Current Business Update and Outlook for Fiscal Year 2020

The company has seen a recent improvement in case volumes as customers have adjusted their business models to accommodate social distancing requirements and consumers have adopted to new take-out and delivery options from restaurants. During the month of April total case volume decreased approximately 50% from the comparable period in the prior year. The presentation slides that accompany today\'s earnings release contain additional information on April case volume trends by customer group. The company has also taken aggressive actions to reduce operating costs including leveraging its variable cost structure, temporary employee furloughs, freezing hiring, deferring corporate wage increases, salaries reductions for management level associates and reductions in senior executive and board compensation. These actions were put in place at the end of the first quarter 2020 and are expected to help preserve cash as the company navigates this unprecedented period.

Due to the continued uncertainty associated with COVID-19 the company withdrew its fiscal 2020 financial guidance on March 23, 2020 and is not providing new fiscal 2020 financial guidance at this time.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on US Foods (USFD) click here.