The company, which owns the Ralphs, Smith’s and Food 4 Less grocery chains, saw first-quarter sales, excluding fuel increase 2.4 percent. These increases were for stores open for more than a year without expansion or reloca- tion and although the growth was a good sign it was slightly below analysts’ average estimate of an expected 2.5 percent increase. Total operating expenses, excluding fuel and Roundy’s which was acquired by Kroger in 2015, fell 4 basis points as a percent of sales compared to the last year. Net income attributable to Kroger rose about 10 percent to $680 million, or 70 cents per share, in the first quarter with total sales increasing 4.7% to $34.60 billion USD.
By James Barrie T he Kroger Company, which is an American retailer founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 and as of 2015 was listed as the largest U.S. supermarket operator by revenue and store count, reported a better-than-expect- ed rise in quarterly profit as costs fell.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • JULY 2016
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