What happened
Shares of Performance Food Group (PFGC 0.68%) have jumped today, up by 14% as of noon EDT, after the company shared a presentation that management will give to investors tomorrow at a virtual investing conference hosted by Jefferies. The food distributor is seeing improvements in weekly sales trends.
So what
The COVID-19 pandemic has crushed much of the restaurant industry, which makes up Performance Food Group's customers, starting in March. The company noted that sales fell by approximately 50% in the last two weeks of March, but conditions have continued to improve each week. In the week ended June 20, weekly dollar sales were down just 10.1% year over year, compared to weekly declines of around 20% or more throughout the month of May.
Image source: Getty Images.
PFG notes that the dining out industry has historically proven to be resilient through downturns, and the company remains confident in its long-term fundamentals.
Now what
PFG says it remains positioned to grow its market share organically going forward, thanks to the strength of its large portfolio of proprietary brands that serve a broad range of restaurant genres. Additionally, PFG has a track record of successful acquisitions, and believes there is more opportunity for consolidation within the industry to expand into more categories and sales channels.
The company has taken other actions, such as a $275 million bond offering in April, to strengthen the balance sheet in order to weather the crisis while the industry continues to recover.
