Cintas (CTAS) Falls Short of Expectations

by Jim Woods | December 23, 2009 4:35 am

Uniform maker Cintas Corp. (CTAS[1]) appears to be the latest victim of the nation’s double-digit unemployment rate. Less people working means less need for work uniforms, and that’s Cintas’ core business.

On Tuesday, the company posted a fiscal second-quarter profit that slid 20% from the same period a year ago. Cintas said it earned $57 million, or 39 cents per adjusted share on revenue of $884 million. That number was far below the 43 cents per share on revenue of $890 million Wall Street anticipated. 

But the really bad news for Cintas came in the form of its warning to the Street. The company said that analysts’ forecast for the full fiscal year of $1.75 per share on revenue of $3.58 billion is “too optimistic.”

After such a gloomy earnings report, CTAS fell significantly in Tuesday’s after-hours trade, gapping down more than 7% in the session.

What Cintas didn’t say in its earnings report is that at least some of its customers are shopping their business to smaller, privately-held uniform companies. A well-placed source in the uniform industry said that their company is frequently approached by Cintas’ clients who are seeking lower production costs and more efficient customer service.

All of this adds up to a bearish outlook for Cintas shares going forward, so investors who own the stock here at a profit might consider taking their gains off the table.

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