Supervalu Earnings Beat, Though Sales Fall at Save-A-Lot
April 26 2016 - 10:20AM
Dow Jones News
Supervalu Inc. on Tuesday posted earnings that topped
expectations in its fourth quarter, though revenue slid 10% and
same-store sales fell at its deep-discount chain, a setback to its
plans to spin off that business.
Supervalu owns supermarket chains including Cub, Fresh Farm and
Shop n' Save. Like many of its peers, Supervalu has struggled to
distinguish itself in the highly competitive supermarket industry.
The company has been left in a middle ground as low-price,
no-frills chains have attracted cost-conscious customers and
specialty chains led by Whole Foods Market Inc. have lured
wealthier shoppers.
Supervalu said last year it was considering spinning off
Save-A-Lot, a discount grocery chain that has been a rare bright
spot for the company. Save-A-Lot same-store sales fell 2.2% in the
most recent quarter.
The company in February named Mark Gross its new chief
executive, adding an industry veteran with merger-and-acquisition
experience to its ranks as the grocer seeks to spin off its
deep-discount chain.
"Although fourth-quarter sales were softer than we had forecast,
I am optimistic about our future prospects," Mr. Gross said
Tuesday.
In all, Supervalu said earnings rose to $52 million, or 20 cents
a share, up from $39 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding debt refinancing, store closures and expenses related to
the potential Save-A-Lot spinoff, adjusted per-share earnings rose
to 23 cents.
Revenue fell 10% to $3.95 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast 19 cents a share
in adjusted earnings on $4.02 billion in revenue.
Shares in the company, inactive premarket, have added 24% over
the past three months, cutting the 12-month slide to 53%.
Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 26, 2016 10:05 ET (14:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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