Dollar General Q1 beats Street, on track to open 575 U.S. stores; boosts guidance

In its full-year results for the 52-week period ended March 2022, the postal operator achieved revenue of £12.71bn, up 0.6% on the £12.64bn it achieved a year earlier. This included sales from its overseas parcels business GLS. On a reported basis, the company recorded a pre-tax profit of £662m, down 8.8% on last year, and an operating profit of £577m, down 5.6%. Its adjusted operating profit was up 8% at £758m while its adjusted pre-tax profit figure was up 6.5% at £707m. The business said that while the pandemic had resulted in an increase in parcel volumes, some of the tailwinds it experienced in the last year have subsided, and while it has seen a recovery in letter volumes, “parcel volumes and shifts in mix continue to be volatile”.

*GAAP Results: Revenue of $461 million (-6%), Operating loss of $46 million (+$21 million), and EPS loss of $2.08 (-$0.79). GAAP revenue decrease due to completed divestiture and declines in other held for sale businesses. GAAP results impacted by charges related to held for sale or sold assets, including goodwill and held for sale impairments of $82 million and $26 million, respectively, as well as a loss on a completed divestiture of $26 million. The Company also recorded restructuring charges of $15 million. “As we finish out the year, we’re increasingly confident in our underlying momentum and recovery in Research and continued outperformance in Learning,” said Matthew Kissner, Interim President and CEO. “We’ve moved decisively on our improvement and optimization plans and expect a strong fourth quarter as Research continues to recover, Learning continues to outperform, and in-year cost savings accelerate. Our disciplined execution and positive momentum are allowing us to raise our earnings guidance this year and set us up well for material performance and profit improvement in Fiscal 2025 and 2026.”

The U.S. Postal Service congratulated the leadership and members of the U.S. Senate for its bipartisan approval of the Postal Service Reform Act. The bill, which was approved by the House on Feb. 8, now goes to the White House to be signed into law by President Biden. “With the legislative financial reforms achieved today, combined with our own self-led operational reforms, we will be able to self-fund our operations and continue to deliver to 161 million addresses six days per-week for many decades to come,” said Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy. “I thank the Senate and our Committee leadership that broke the 10-year logjam which has long constrained the finances of the Postal Service. The Postal Service serves every American every day and so it’s only right that our future is now collectively assured by members of all political parties.” As passed by the House and Senate, the key elements of the Postal Service Reform Act are that it eliminates the unfair, outdated, and burdensome retiree health benefit prefunding requirement, and it integrates our retiree health benefit program with Medicare in a manner that is fully consistent with private sector best practices. The bill also formalizes our obligation to deliver mail and packages six days per-week through an integrated delivery network, and includes accountability, transparency and reporting requirements.