Earnings Call Transcript
CINTAS CORP (CTAS)
Earnings Call Transcript - CTAS Q4 2020
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Good morning, and thank you for joining us. With me today is Scott Farmer, Cintas' Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer; and Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. We will discuss our fourth quarter results for fiscal 2020. After our commentary, we will be happy to answer your questions. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor from civil litigation for forward-looking statements. This conference call contains forward-looking statements that reflect the company's current views as to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which would cause actual results to differ materially from those we may discuss. I refer you to the discussion on these points contained in our most recent filings with the SEC. I'll now turn the call over to Scott Farmer.
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Mike, and good morning, everyone. As you know, this continues to be a challenging time for all of us, and we can't thank enough our employees, who we call partners, for doing all that they can to keep our customers' places of business clean, safe and ready for the workday. On May 13, we provided an update on how Cintas' business has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and how we were managing the business. COVID-19 continues to be a significant disruption to our economy and to business. Our priorities are unchanged. They include keeping our employees healthy and safe and remaining committed to serving our customers in any way possible. I believe we're succeeding at both. Our employee partners have been consistent and diligent in their care of our customers, providing essential products and services to health care facilities, pharmaceutical companies, grocery store chains, food processing plants and many others. We've provided health care customers with clean scrubs and microfiber towels and mats. We've provided tens of thousands of customers with disinfectant and sanitizer spray services. And we've provided tremendous amounts of personal protective equipment, including face masks, face shields and other items to our customers to keep their employees safe. Our supply chain has worked feverishly to satisfy this demand. The demand for items like hand sanitizers and N95 respirators has increased tenfold in this pandemic. Our existing suppliers around the world have been key to us meeting this demand, and we thank them for their support. In addition, our scale enabled us to establish additional relationships with dozens of vendors to secure these scarce products. We continue to work to aid existing customers with the products and services that they desperately need, and our ability to access these products that others can't has enabled us to win new customers. We continue to communicate with our customers who remain idle and are considered on hold, and our focus is on being there to help them when they reopen. Before turning the call back to Mike, I want to conclude by stating that I'm thankful for the tremendous dedication of our employee partners. I'm proud of their ability to adapt and persevere in the midst of unprecedented adversity. In addition, I'm as excited as ever about our principal objective of exceeding our customers' expectations to maximize the long-term value of Cintas for our shareholders and working partners. Our value proposition of getting businesses Ready for the Workday by providing essential, unparalleled image, safety, cleanliness and compliance arguably has never resonated more than it does today. This pandemic will not soon be forgotten, and its impact on society is likely transformative. We believe a new trend of greater focus on health, readiness and outsourcing of non-core activities is underway. More health care scrubs are being professionally laundered and managed, so fewer are worn in public. Businesses, including universities and retail establishments, are requiring huge quantities of sanitizer and related services. Most businesses are providing larger budgets to align with proper cleaning protocols, and supply chains of these key items are moving to the U.S. to reduce dependence on other nations. We believe Cintas is well positioned to benefit from this new normal. Now I'll turn the call back over to Mike.
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Thanks, Scott. Our fiscal '20 fourth quarter revenue was $1.62 billion, a decrease of 9.7% compared to last year's fourth quarter. Earnings per diluted share or EPS from continuing operations were $1.38, a decrease of 34.8% compared to last year's fourth quarter. Free cash flow for this year's fourth quarter was the highest it had been all year at $316 million. Organic revenue adjusted for acquisitions, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and differences in the number of workdays declined 8.4% for the fourth quarter of fiscal '20. Organic revenue for the Uniform Rental and Facility Services operating segment declined 9.6%. Organic revenue for the First Aid and Safety Services operating segment increased 21.9%. Gross margin for the fourth quarter of fiscal '20 of $708 million decreased 14.1%. Gross margin as a percentage of revenue was 43.7% for the fourth quarter of fiscal '20 compared to 45.9% in the fourth quarter of fiscal '19. Selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue were 30.9% in the fourth quarter of fiscal '20 and 28.3% in the fourth quarter of fiscal '19. Operating income for the fourth quarter of fiscal '20 of $207 million decreased 34%. Operating margin was 12.8% in the fourth quarter of fiscal '20 compared to 17.5% in fiscal '19. Our fiscal fourth quarter contained one less workday than the prior year fourth quarter. One less workday in a quarter has an impact of approximately 50 basis points on operating margin due to many large expenses, including rental material costs, depreciation expense and amortization expense being determined on a monthly basis instead of a workday basis. Fourth quarter of fiscal '20 operating income was affected by many items caused by COVID-19, including additional reserves on accounts receivable and inventory, severance and asset impairment expenses, and lower incentive compensation expenses. Excluding these items, the operating margin was 15.5%. All of these items were recorded in selling and administrative expense. The additional inventory reserves account for slow-moving inventory, mostly in our Uniform Direct Sales business, where customers in some of the most severely impacted industries such as airlines and hotels exist. Our effective tax rate on continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal '20 was 20.4% compared to 21.7% last year. The tax rate can move from period to period based on discrete events, including the amount of stock compensation expense. Net income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal '20 was $145 million, and reported earnings per diluted share were $1.35. At the onset of the pandemic, we drew on our credit facility in the amount of $200 million. This was for defensive purposes. We have a great cash flow business, and as the quarter progressed, cash generation exceeded our expectations. Cash generated was used not only to repay the $200 million borrowed against the revolver but also to pay off a $200 million term loan. We ended the quarter carrying no variable debt. Our leverage calculation for our credit facility definition was 1.6x debt to EBITDA. Our balance sheet is strong. We have an untapped credit facility of $1 billion and no material debt maturities in the next 12 months. Free cash flow for the year exceeded $1 billion and increased 34.1% over the prior fiscal year. We remain steadfast in our commitment to effectively deploying cash to increase shareholder value. We purchased $393 million of Cintas stock in fiscal '20 under our buyback authorizations, including $200 million in early March before the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount remaining under our buyback authorization is $1.1 billion. Looking ahead to fiscal '21, please note that there will be one more workday than in fiscal '20. One more workday will benefit fiscal '21 total revenue growth by 40 basis points. One more workday also benefits operating margin and EPS. Fiscal '21 operating margin will be about 12.5 basis points better in comparison to fiscal '20 due to one more day of revenue. By quarter, in comparison to fiscal '20, the fiscal '21 first quarter will contain one more workday. The second quarter will contain the same number of workdays. The third quarter will contain one less work day, and the fourth quarter will contain one more workday. Please keep the quarterly day differences in mind when modeling our fiscal '21 results. Before turning the call over to Todd Schneider to discuss the performance of each of our businesses, I want to comment on fiscal '21 financial guidance. Due to the recent increases in the number of people contracting COVID-19 and the actions governments are taking again in response, uncertainty remains about the pace of the economic recovery. Therefore, we are not providing annual guidance at this time. However, since we are more than halfway through our quarter, we are willing to provide our first quarter financial expectations, and they are as follows: revenue in the range of $1.675 billion to $1.7 billion; Uniform Rental and Facility Services segment organic revenue decline of 8% to 9%; First Aid and Safety Services segment organic revenue increase approaching 10%; earnings per diluted share of $2 to $2.20; and that implies a total operating margin in the range of 16.5% to 18% at the revenue midpoint. As Scott was quoted in today's earnings release, despite the uncertainty, we are confident in our ability to manage the short-term and maintain focus on our long-term objectives. Todd will now make some comments about the performance of each of our businesses. Todd?
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Thank you, Mike. The recent operating environment has certainly been challenging. As Scott mentioned, our focus has been on the safety of our partners and fulfilling the needs of our customers. At the onset of the pandemic, our leadership team attacked the crisis like a major acquisition or investment. Leaders from all areas of the company met daily to gather information, strategize and execute. Daunting challenges were overcome, and many were viewed as opportunities, facilitated by our strong corporate culture, which is rooted in positivity, competitive urgency and concern for employees, customers and other key stakeholders. The results have included a safe and healthy workforce and a rise in Net Promoter Scores from our customers. Our approach was to be highly flexible and take a long-term view of our relationship with our customers. Fortunately, we were deemed an essential service in all markets we operate in. However, many of our customers were closed. And even for those who were open, the impact on the financials of their business was substantial. For those customers who are open or ready to reopen, we were able to provide products and services that were critical to providing confidence to their employees and customers that they were in a safe environment. Products like soap, hand sanitizer, masks and disinfectant spray services. I'll now turn to the fourth quarter financial performance of our businesses. The Uniform Rental and Facility Services operating segment includes the rental and servicing of uniforms, health care scrubs, mats and towels and the provision of restroom supplies, hand sanitizers and other facility products and services. The segment also includes the sale of items from our catalogs to our customers on route. Uniform Rental and Facility Services revenue was $1.27 billion, a decrease of 11%. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, foreign currency exchange rate changes and the difference in the number of workdays, organic revenue declined 9.6%. Our Uniform Rental and Facility Services segment gross margin was 43.6% for the fourth quarter, compared to 46.0% in last year's fourth quarter. We had one less workday in our fourth quarter, which had a negative impact of about 40 basis points in the current quarter. Lower production and service expenses as a percent of revenue compared to last year's fourth quarter were more than offset by amortization expenses on uniforms, dust mats, towels and other items rented to customers. Amortization expense was 300 basis points higher this fourth quarter compared to last. This non-cash expense is a significant headwind in the short term but will improve in ensuing quarters because purchases of new items were reduced and more existing items will become fully amortized. As Mike stated, selling and administrative expenses were negatively affected by many items caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus. Excluding the impact of the applicable aforementioned items, Uniform Rental and Facility Services' operating margin was 16.1% compared to 18.5% in the prior year period, a decremental margin of 37%. Our First Aid and Safety Services operating segment includes revenue from the sale and servicing of first aid products, personal protective equipment and training. This segment's revenue for the fourth quarter was $196.3 million. Organic revenue for the segment increased 21.9%. Revenue from servicing the first aid cabinets decreased due to the business closures from stay-in-place orders. However, our business of providing personal protective equipment surged, overcoming the revenue declines of cabinet servicing. Sales, service, supply chain, finance and others work quickly to provide current customers with masks, respirators, sanitizer and other critical items needed. In addition, the division secured new business through our ability to source scarce resources quickly. The result was a 40.8% organic revenue growth rate in May. Businesses are echoing our mantra of, 'There is nothing more important than the health and safety of our employees and customers.' The first aid segment gross margin was 46.1% in the fourth quarter compared to 47.7% in last year's fourth quarter. Lower production and service expenses as a percent of revenue compared to last year's fourth quarter were more than offset by cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold was 840 basis points higher this fourth quarter compared to last and is attributable to the increased proportion of revenue from personal protective equipment. Excluding the impact of the applicable previously mentioned items triggered by the COVID-19 coronavirus, the First Aid and Safety Services operating margin was 18.2% compared to 15.4% in the prior year period, an incremental margin of 32%. Our Fire Protection Services and Uniform Direct Sales businesses are reported in the All Other category. Fire Protection Services include the performance of testing, inspection and maintenance of fire protection equipment, including extinguishers, alarms, sprinklers and emergency lights. Uniform Direct Sales business includes the provision of custom-tailored apparel. All Other revenue was $152 million, a decrease of 24.5%. Organic revenue declined 24.5%. The fire business organic revenue declined 12.4% due to the inability to access many businesses because of closures from stay-at-home orders. The Uniform Direct Sales business organic revenue declined 39.5%. Revenue from our airline, cruise line, hospitality and gaming customers largely falls within this segment. These industries have been amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic. That concludes our prepared remarks. We are happy to answer your questions.
Operator, Operator
And we will now take our first question, which comes from Andrew Steinerman at JPMorgan Securities.
Andrew Steinerman, Analyst
I was hoping you could give a comment about just small and medium-sized businesses in total. Obviously, it's an important part of your client base. Do you feel like the small businesses that haven't opened yet still aren't in a position to open? And if not, do you feel like when would we know more?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Well, Andrew, this is Scott. I'd say we have ongoing conversations with our customers that are on hold, and the majority of them intend to reopen. A lot of it depends on how long this lasts and that sort of thing, but we feel pretty good about it so far. The indications that we get from them are that they do intend to reopen, but it's cloudy right now looking out into the future. I don't know if any of them could, on a state-by-state basis, maybe give us some sort of an indication of their timing. But in total, it's very difficult for us to do that for you.
Andrew Steinerman, Analyst
Okay. And so far, they felt like the federal support for small businesses during this juncture has been sufficient?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
I'm sure there are lots of opinions on that. But yes, I think so. I think that we'll find out if more support is coming based on what we understand is going on in Washington right now, both for businesses as well as for individuals. Supporting the individual would, in effect, also be supporting the businesses because they'd have the money to spend to do so. We'll find out more here in the coming weeks as that gets resolved in D.C.
Operator, Operator
And we'll move on to our next question or comment, and that is from Seth Weber with RBC Capital Markets.
Seth Weber, Analyst
I hope you're doing well. Scott, in your prepared remarks, I heard several times you talked about the health care vertical and the opportunity there. Can you just talk about whether you are actually seeing real-time conversions here from hospitals that are switching to more outsourced scrub rental? And just sort of the conversations that you're having there in that vertical, in particular, and I know you've sort of targeted a more specific sales effort there and just traction on how that's going.
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Sure. Yes. We have, for the last few years, had health care as a vertical that we've spent a lot of time and effort trying to cultivate. I think you've all probably seen news reports of health care workers after work, going to grocery stores or some other place and being harassed by other customers because they were afraid that their clothing was contaminated. Hospitals realize that, and health care workers realize that, traditionally, particularly in the nursing end of health care, the nurses have bought their own scrubs and taken them home to wash themselves. There has been a conversion to professional laundering of those scrubs so that health care workers don't take them home and don't wear them out of the hospital and so forth. That would be something we could handle for them. We have seen customers who have used our services relative to scrub rental in portions of the hospital expand that into other areas of the hospital. I think that this is the beginning of a movement we will see more and more of as I look to the future.
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Seth, this is Todd. Just to expand upon that. As Scott mentioned, you see the videos, the folks in grocery stores where people are upset because of what is on their garments. What we're seeing is employers are worried about what people come in contact with from the point they leave their home to the point they arrive at the hospital, and employees are worried about what they're taking home as well, whom they might come in contact with on the way home and what goes into their home laundry. So this professional cleaning, hygienically clean laundry is really important. We've had a number of customers, many of which are names you would recognize, that are very interested in broadening these programs to help their employees and their businesses.
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
And I would just add one more thing. That is not just the big hospital chains. It's also doctors' offices, dentists, health care workers in general. It's early stage, but we like the momentum that we're seeing there and think that it has an opportunity for really good growth.
Seth Weber, Analyst
Okay. That's super helpful. And Mike, if I could just get a follow-up. The delta for the quarter came in a little better than I think your mid-quarter or late-quarter update. Is there anything you would highlight that drove the relatively better end of the quarter, such as significant one-time sales, or did trends just improve a bit more than expected towards the end of May?
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yes. As Todd talked a little bit about it in his remarks, that first aid really finished with a strong May of 40% growth. And as much as anything, it was that kind of performance that led us beyond the guidance that we gave in mid-May.
Operator, Operator
And we'll move on to our next question, and that is from George Tong with Goldman Sachs.
George Tong, Analyst
Can you provide an update on your uniform rentals' capacity plans, especially with the evolving pace of business reopenings? And what your capacity plans might have in terms of an impact on decremental margins over the next several quarters?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Sure, George. The question is about our capacity plan. You have mentioned that you intend to maintain the majority of your capacity anticipating business reopenings. With the current pace of business reopenings being uncertain due to rising COVID infections in some areas, what are your latest thoughts on keeping that capacity? Or do you plan to reduce capacity based on the current situation? Let me sort of give this a broader view of how we've managed this up to this point. Todd mentioned in his remarks that early on, we had daily meetings with our leadership team, and that's HR and IT and my direct reports, the presidents of the divisions, global supply chain. We covered a number of different things in those meetings. It started with the safety of our people and how to get them the right personal protective gear, how to make sure that people arriving at work aren't infected, how to take temperature, and where to get the thermometer. From there, moving into the customers. Part of it also included a review of business and capacity. Generally speaking, we're happy with where we are from a capacity standpoint, although we continue to review it. We announced that we're shutting down an operation in Minnesota. That was one we had been looking at for some time. It was an acquired operation, an older facility with older equipment and inefficient layout. In that market, we have capacity to move the volume into other facilities that are more efficient, more modern. We consistently review operations and our capacity on a market-to-market basis, and we'll continue to do that looking forward. Todd, do you want to add anything?
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Yes, George. Great question. We're looking at this in the long term. We're excited about where our business is positioned. We think that the demands for our products and services moving forward are going to be healthy. When we look at it, we think of image, safety, cleanliness, all things that businesses are very, very interested in. We're constantly evaluating our capacity model. As you know, capacity is really a local subject. It rolls up to a corporate subject. But we look at it locally.
George Tong, Analyst
Got it. Very helpful. And then as a follow-up, can you provide some additional detail on how revenue trends evolved moving through the quarter? And if your fiscal 1Q outlook assumes stable July run rates in August or if it assumes an improvement off of July levels?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
So George, we've obviously seen some nice improvement in the revenue run rates. In the May timeframe, we were down in the mid- to high teens. We've seen that reduce to the mid- to high single digits. We're expecting slight improvement but not much from this point.
Operator, Operator
We'll move on to our next question, and that is from Hamzah Mazari with Jefferies.
Hamzah Mazari, Analyst
My question is on how do you see the sustainability of first aid organic growth and also hygiene? If you could touch on what you saw there in terms of growth? And whether you think that's sustainable for the balance of the year? Obviously, demand is still there, but do you think the market's well supplied, whereby that organic run rate drops off? Just any thoughts as to how you're thinking about those two specific areas.
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Great. Thank you for the question. This is Todd. As Mike and Scott mentioned, trying to forecast out past Q1 is very challenging. The reason being is the spike in cases recently has changed it. So it seems like every 2-3 weeks is more like 2 or 3 months in the past. But we do see, as cases rise, demand for PPE is still strong. We believe that when this drops off with remedies, vaccines, people will be back to work and consuming more products out of our first aid cabinets. It's tough to forecast out past Q1, but we believe we're in a really good spot.
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Hamzah, this is Scott. I would add that I think as a general statement, one of the reasons we saw the spike in sales in May is because there was a rush by just about every business out there to find personal protective gear, hand sanitizer, and the things they need to keep their workplace open and clean. If they could find somebody who had it, they were buying months' worth of supply because they were afraid that if they came back out into the market again to buy it, it may not be there. It was like what we would see when we would sell a large direct sale customer. We get a big first upfront order, and then it drops off to a more typical run rate afterward. We're going to continue to see the demand for masks and hand sanitizers, but there was a big upfront purchase, a race to ensure proper supply. Relative to hygiene services, I think this is a long-term change in the marketplace. I said in the May call that what this pandemic has done to workplace cleanliness and sanitation is similar to what 9/11 did to public building security. We have customers right now that have come to us and said, 'Look, I have 7,000 branches. I need hand sanitizer stations at all of them and need somebody to come by regularly to ensure they have the supply they need.' We've seen large universities come to us and request thousands of hand sanitizer stations for their buildings. They want us to do this because we have the sanitizer available and the service to maintain them.
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
What Scott mentioned is important. There’s a critical need for these products. They need to restore confidence in their employees, customers, and students, and this allows us to engage with high-level executives within organizations, potentially leading to expanded opportunities
Hamzah Mazari, Analyst
That's very helpful color. Just a follow-up question. I'll turn it over. Just on the SAP system. Could you talk about what kind of data that gives you now relative to what you didn't have before? I realize it's COVID-19 and demand environment is different, so you may see benefits of cross-selling come in later from the SAP. But just for investors, just to get a sense of what do you have today that gives you sort of a full view of the customer that you didn't have before that can maybe help you longer term once you come out of COVID or during COVID even?
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Hamzah, thanks again for the questions. SAP is doing a lot of things for us. We now have one view of our customer. Not completely, we have it in our first aid business and rental business, but a significant portion of our business. It's helping the speed at which we're able to retrieve data, which is helping us make decisions in real-time compared to the past. It's also helping with some other items that we're doing from a technology standpoint. It gives the customer a view of their spend with us, allowing them to manage their business. Other benefits we're seeing include a better view of our stock rooms and supply chain, so it's been beneficial.
Operator, Operator
And we'll move on to our next question, and that is from Manav Patnaik with Barclays.
Manav Patnaik, Analyst
My first question is just around the supply chain that you guys have. You talked earlier in the call about your scale aligned to get additional relationships with vendors and so forth. Just broadly, like has there been any other disruptions? Or would you say net-net, it's been pretty smooth?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Manav, this is Scott. First of all, I think this goes back to the morning meetings that we were having. We were getting real-time feedback on what was going on in the field, what our customers were looking for, what they needed. We took early initiative to source face masks, hand sanitizers, hygiene products because there’s huge demand. Our supply chain did a fantastic job going out and reacting to that. I mentioned last call that our supply chain has become a competitive advantage for us. We're in good stock position on most of these items, and we have competitors that are still struggling to source. I don't think there's been any significant disruption.
Manav Patnaik, Analyst
Got it. And just a broader question around managing the cost base. I know there's obviously a lot of uncertainty. You talked about the administrative facility that you were looking at a while back. I think there's another one in the Milwaukee area you closed. Just wondering how you're thinking about what further cost actions you need to take now? Or is it just a wait and see if these things get worse, do you cut more or rationalize more?
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Manav, this is Todd. From a cost standpoint, we believe we've been through the worst of it. We've shown a great ability to manage through that process. We're continuing to adjust our cost structure in all facets as we move through this pandemic. We believe it's short-term, and the long-term of our business looks very positive. We've successfully managed through what we believe is the worst of it, and we'll manage through this process no matter what is thrown at us.
Operator, Operator
And we’ll move on to our next question, and that is from Andrew Wittmann with RW Baird.
Andrew Wittmann, Analyst
I guess I wanted to check in a little bit on the competitive environment. Every recession is different. But historically, if volumes wane, sometimes there can be increased price competition. So I was just wondering if you could comment on what you're seeing from the competition, if it's too soon to say or if there have been any changes in the marketplace. What those changes are, if any, and how you're reacting to them?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Andrew, this is Scott. Overall, it’s difficult to say what's happening from a pricing standpoint as COVID-19 has affected it. We get anecdotal evidence on a market-by-market basis that things are competitive if somebody is doing some crazy things. One thing we've seen is some competitors struggling to service their customers. Some have supply chain issues or service issues, but I wouldn't call that a major trend. This pandemic has made some businesses struggle to operate as they ordinarily would.
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
As Scott mentioned, our supply chain organization has done an incredible job positioning us to service customers properly. Even if we're uniquely positioned because we have products others don't, we're going to take a long-term approach on how we handle that. We are going to be fair on pricing and treat it as a long-term customer relationship.
Andrew Wittmann, Analyst
That makes sense. Is the stress that's out there in the marketplace going to shake loose opportunities for acquisitions in this environment as well?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
It's tough to say where and when somebody might decide to sell their business. You can see a scenario in just about any industry that could lead people to sell. We could afford to make acquisitions, and that would be something we’re looking forward to if opportunities present themselves.
Operator, Operator
And we'll move on to our next question, and that is from Gary Bisbee with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Gary Bisbee, Analyst
So I wanted to ask a question about the costs. The first quarter outlook implies sequentially improved revenue but sequentially lower costs. Can you just give us a sense of how much costs you've taken out or how we should think about how that will annualize through the P&L?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
It's a little bit of all of the above. We've eliminated all discretionary spending. Business travel is down, and we're not allowing people to travel right now. Some training meetings where people ordinarily would be flying aren't happening. We made some changes to rightsize the organization from a labor standpoint. Those can and will go up as volume comes back. We also announced we would close one of our operations as a longer-term decision. We do all of the above and will continue to look at the changing nature of this as we can head in either direction. We can manage the cost as we grow into it or manage costs appropriately if revenue declines. We're ready to go in either direction.
Gary Bisbee, Analyst
And would a reasonable way to think about that moving forward be that you think you could manage the cost structure relatively in line with change in revenue? Or could there be some step function costs that come back once revenue is stronger?
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yes, Gary, we saw a significant drop in revenue in the fourth quarter, but we adapted. You're seeing some of the benefits of that reaction in the first quarter. As we move, we'll adapt to revenue and the environment, but there will be some costs like discretionary spending and travel that will come back. We still have a hiring freeze, and as we get more clarity, we'll consider adding to the capacity for growth like we normally would in a kind of normal environment. We'll make decisions rapidly to adapt to revenue and capacity needs.
Gary Bisbee, Analyst
If I could sneak one more in. Historically, in Q4, you've given the rentals mix by products. Is that something you have at your fingertips and be willing to share this year?
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Sure. Our uniform rental business was 50% of the rental segment; dust was 18%; hygiene was 14%; shop towels, 4%; linen products, 10%; catalog, 4%. Not a lot of change from last year in any of those categories.
Operator, Operator
And we'll move on to our next question, and that is from Tim Mulrooney with William Blair.
Timothy Mulrooney, Analyst
Scott, you mentioned at the beginning of this call about being there for your customers when they reopen. What percentage of your customer base would you say has reopened at this point? Can you help us understand what those conversations look like? When the customer reopens, is it a slower ramp? Is there any sort of contract renegotiation? Or do you just kind of pick up where you left off?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
First of all, we're dealing with business owners or managers who did not make the decision themselves to shut down. The conversation is around what are your plans? When do you hope to reopen? Help us understand what you think will happen in your business and how we can help you. We have large customers who have turned to us to help them develop cleaning protocol for their business to ensure that their workplaces are clean and sanitized. It's important to help them get to a point where they reopen. The lifetime value of these customers is really important to us, and we're not there to talk about the contract but to help them get reopened. We use the Net Promoter Score system to evaluate our customer satisfaction, and we've seen a dramatic increase as we moved through this pandemic because of how we've helped them.
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Tim, this is Todd. Our diverse customer base varies by industry and geography. The conversation really depends on what's going on in their business and location. Some are opening back up with no revenue, while others remained open. Most were impacted, even those who remained open, and we've adjusted offerings per their needs to restore confidence for their employees and customers.
Operator, Operator
And we'll move on to our next question, and that is from Toni Kaplan with Morgan Stanley.
Toni Kaplan, Analyst
In the past, you've talked about how about 60% of your growth comes from converting non-programmers. And I'm just curious, in this environment, are you seeing a change in that mix? Are you seeing higher growth from existing customers? Or are you seeing new customers signing up for hygiene products? Just trying to think about how that growth dynamic has been changing in this COVID period.
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Toni, this is Scott. We’re a few months into this period, so it may be difficult to provide hard data, but certain products, both with existing customers and prospects, are now in demand. We’re working hard on both fronts to provide what businesses need. There are businesses that may not have typically used our services that are now looking for our assistance, recognizing the opportunity we provide.
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Todd, maybe talk a little bit about sales rep productivity that we're seeing right now.
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Yes. Our sales productivity has been impressive. Our team has shown great creativity and tenacity. While they're not physically in front of clients as much as before, they're busy via calls, Teams, Zoom, and more. We're very encouraged by their performance and commitment.
Toni Kaplan, Analyst
That's great. I was hoping you could give an update on the final amount you've spent on SAP this year and what you expect to spend next year, along with any benefits you're seeing so far from the implementation.
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
The spend this year has generally been in that recurring area, the implementation costs, training, and consulting costs. We've discussed previously about $12 million annually for the last several years. That amount will drop off as we've completed the rollout. From the perspective of benefits, Todd discussed the availability of information, and while it's hard to quantify the short-term impacts, we're seeing improved sales productivity and good customer view data.
Toni Kaplan, Analyst
$12 million will drop off next year?
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yes. However, amid the changing environment due to the pandemic, it's tough to say exactly how much we'll save or how it will impact next year.
Operator, Operator
We'll take our next question, and that is from Shlomo Rosenbaum with Stifel Nicholas.
Shlomo Rosenbaum, Analyst
Mike, could you help investors quantify the opportunity for the scrubs rentals in Cintas? What's the opportunity in health care? How much of your sales are in any way tied to health care? Is there a way to think about the pull-through?
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Shlomo, Scott talked about the health care opportunity earlier, and we love the opportunity. It's about 7% of our total revenue, and we think there's a real opportunity to grow. It's difficult to provide a specific number, especially in this pandemic environment, but we love the potential. When we get scrub rental products into hospitals, we're there often, inviting further opportunities to discuss their challenges. It's likely to lead to more enterprise-type sales at those big hospitals.
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
As we look forward, we're seeing cleanliness ideas becoming relevant in smaller health care facilities, creating more opportunities in scrubs, microfiber, and other areas. We really value the opportunity as we move forward, but it's pretty difficult to put an exact number on it right now.
Operator, Operator
And we'll take our next question, and that is from Scott Schneeberger with Oppenheimer.
Scott Schneeberger, Analyst
I focus on travel and hospitality end markets, airlines, cruise, hotel, gaming, which may have a bit of a tail of some trouble. Just curious, your conversations, I know you're not providing guidance beyond the current quarter. How should we think, based on conversations you've had with those customers, is the good and the bad of consideration looking out over the coming fiscal year?
Todd Schneider, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Scott, this is Todd. Those customers in the hospitality and travel industries are facing serious headwinds. They're looking at it long-term. They're worried about business travel. Leisure travel will likely bounce back faster. We're working with them at high levels to establish cleaning protocols to ensure a safe environment for guests. They're not buying garments at the rates we’d like, but they see value in investing for the near term.
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
That’s direct sales business reflecting in our direct sale results. Those industries have been the hardest hit, and it might take them longer to recover. But at some point, we all agree that travel will resume, and those businesses will recover.
Scott Schneeberger, Analyst
Great. And just a quick follow-up on capital allocation for the company. You have flexibility. Will you sit on the sidelines and watch, or might we see offensive M&A, and thoughts on other uses of cash?
Scott Farmer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Our priorities have been and will continue to be making acquisitions, investments for growth. Mergers and acquisitions would be a great way to do that. We have a history of increasing our dividend, and those decisions will be made about next year's dividend later. Also, stock buybacks have played a role when opportunities arise. This approach will continue as we look to the future.
Operator, Operator
At this time, there are no further questions. So I'll turn the conference back over to Mike Hansen for any closing remarks.
Mike Hansen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Thank you for joining us this morning. We look forward to talking with you again after our first quarter, likely in mid- to late September. Thank you, and have a great rest of your day.
Operator, Operator
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes today's conference. All participants may now disconnect.