UniFirst earnings rise 24 percent to $16.9 million

UniFirst Corp., a Wilmington company that supplies uniforms and protective clothing, said today that its fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 24 percent due to improving margins in the company's core laundry business.

Net income for the quarter ended May 31 rose to $16.9 million, or 87 cents per share, up from $13.7 million, or 71 cents per share, during the comparable period a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, forecast earnings of 77 cents per share for the quarter.

Revenue increased 11 percent to $254.6 million in the fiscal third quarter, from $229.8 million during the year-ago period. Analysts forecast revenue of $252.7 million, on average.

Operating margins in the laundry business, which accounts for about 90 percent of total revenue, improved to 12.3 percent during the third quarter. Laundry margins were 10.5 percent during the year-ago period.

Margins benefited from lower merchandise amortization, payroll and other costs. Some of those benefits were offset though by rising fuel costs associated with delivery vehicles, the company said in a statement.

UniFirst shares rose $4.83, to 10.8 percent, to $49.50 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)