Despite labor shortages impacting the entire food supply chain and Sysco in particular, both Sysco and US Foods boasted higher quarterly earnings than expected.
US Foods' net sales surged 68 percent to USD 7.7 billion (EUR 6.6 billion) and gross profit grew 74.2 percent to USD 1.2 billion (EUR 1 billion) in Q2 2021.
"As markets around the U.S. reopen without restrictions, we have seen strong demand for our products, services and consultative expertise,” US Foods Chairman and CEO Pietro Satriano said in a press release. “While supply chain labor is expected to remain challenging for the next few quarters, we remain focused on delivering profitable growth as our industry continues to recover.”
Sysco’s most-recent quarterly sales spiked 82 percent versus the same quarter of 2020, and its gross profit soared 86.2 percent to USD 2.9 billion (EUR 2.5 billion). The company's fiscal year ended 3 July, 2021, and it reported its fourth-quarter earnings in early August.
"Sysco’s fourth-quarter results were strong, reflecting market share gains and industry demand that has continued to rebound earlier and stronger than expected,” Sysco President and CEO Kevin Hourican said in a press release.
However, the distributor’s fiscal year sales fell 3 percent to USD 51.3 billion (EUR 44 billion) compared to fiscal year 2020, and its gross profit declined 5.5 percent.
Earlier this week, SeafoodSource reported Sysco is pausing or delaying service in selected geographic areas of the United States due to labor shortages. Schools and restaurants in the U.S. state of Kansas have reported service-disruption notices from the Houston, Texas, U.S.A.-based company, which is one of the largest U.S. broadline food distribution firms.
Hourican did not directly address any delays or interruptions in his company's services in the earnings report.
“While labor and product availability costs are pressuring our industry, we planned ahead to be well-positioned and manage through the demand increase resulting from these transitory pressures.” Hourican said.
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