Supervalu sales, earnings decline
MINNEAPOLIS Supervalu reported that its net sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 dropped 4.5% from the year-ago period.
The grocer said Tuesday its net earnings dropped significantly to $113 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, from $162 million, or $0.76 per diluted share, during first quarter 2009.
“As we noted in our press release of June 24, our first quarter results reflected the continuing difficult economic environment as well as investments we are making in price and higher levels of promotional spending. As a result, sales and margins in the first quarter were weaker than originally expected. We anticipate no near-term change in consumer spending patterns and we will operate our business accordingly,” said Craig Herkert, CEO at Supervalu.
First quarter retail food net sales were $9.9 billion, compared with $10.3 billion last year, a decrease of 4.3%, primarily reflecting the impact of identical store sales of negative 3.2% and previously announced store closures. The identical store sales performance primarily results from a challenging economic environment, heightened competitive activity and additional investments in price and promotions. Retail square footage decreased 3.2% from the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Excluding the impact of store closures, total retail square footage increased 0.8%, compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2009.