Unifi sales fall, makes a loss, but recovery is under way

Unifi, a leading innovator in recycled and synthetic yarns, posted a sales decline to $606.5 million in fiscal 2020, which ended on June 28, compared to $708.8 million last year. The company incurred a net loss of $57.2 million compared to net income of $2.4 million in FY19. The operating loss was $8.8 million compared to operating income of $10.9 million in FY19.

 
“By the end of March 2020, the pandemic started to impact our apparel and automotive customers as they shut down or significantly curtailed operations. Since April 2020, monthly sales have improved sequentially, including July 2020, the best month since March 2020,” CEO Eddie Ingle said.
 
Gross profit for the year fell to $39.0 million (FY19: $66.3 million). Selling, general and administrative expenses were down to $43.8 million ($52.6 million).

Sales of Polyester during FY20 dropped 16.6 per cent to $309.1 million. Sales in Brazil plunged 28.7 per cent to $73.3 million and nylon sales decreased 31.3 per cent to $67.3 million. However, sales in Asia rose 15.2 per cent to $153 million. 
 
“Significant progress was made during the first nine months of fiscal 2020 on several key priorities. At that time, our business in Asia experienced strong growth, our US polyester operations experienced underlying sales and market share growth as favourable trade measures were enacted, cost reduction actions contributed to our performance, and the sustainability focus of customers propelled further Repreve sales growth,” Ingle said.
 
“Looking forward, our innovative and sustainable solutions will be the growth engines that help us meet the evolving needs of our forward-thinking consumers.  We expect Repreve to grow in non-traditional markets, as more brands seek out ways to reduce the carbon footprint of their raw materials,” Ingle added.