SYSCO Misses Q3 Views

SYSCO Corporation (NYSE: SYY) reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter on Monday.The Houston, Texas-based company reported a quarterly profit of $177 million, or $0.30 per share, compared to $180.9 million, or $0.31 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, the company's profit increased to $0.40 per share from $0.38 per share.Its revenue rose 4.2 percent to $11.7 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.41 per share on revenue of $11.98 billion.The average estimate among 7 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.42 per share and revenue of $12.04 billion.Food cost inflation was 3.7 percent in the quarter.Its gross margin shrank 17 basis points to 17.52 percent in the quarter, while gross profit rose 3.1 percent to $2.1 billion.Operating income slipped 1.6 percent to $327 million, while adjusted operating income dropped 2.7 percent to $377 million in the quarter.Case volume for its Broadline and SYGMA operations combined rose 2.5 percent."Sales growth, while solid for the quarter at 4 percent, did moderate from our trends in the first half of the fiscal year primarily due to lower levels of inflation and a greater unfavorable impact from foreign exchange translation. Adjusted earnings per share increased 5 percent and was in line with our expectations, as we continued to focus on providing great service to our customers, managed our gross profit growth reasonably well, and benefitted from a favorable tax rate," said Bill DeLaney, Sysco's president and chief executive officer.SYSCO shares fell 1.26 percent to $36.69 in pre-market trading.