Kroger Q4 Comps Rise 6.2%

Kroger, which operates 2,507 supermarkets and Marketplace stores in 31 states under two-dozen flags, said profits reached $282 million, or 39 cents per share, in the quarter ending Jan. 28. Analysts had expected the chain to report a profit of 36 cents per share. A year earlier, the company recorded a net loss of $652 million, or 89 cents per share due to a $903.8 million pretax impairment charge related to its Ralphs and Food 4 Less operations, company execs said.

Strong sales in grocery, produce, bakery and fuel helped push quarterly revenue to $14.72 billion, a 7.5% increase, while same-store sales rose 6.2% including fuel--4.2% without fuel--making for the company's best sales showing since 1999.David Dillon, Kroger's chief executive, said a number of strategic initiatives instituted by the company during the past few years, which included changes to its business model, helped reverse last year's losses.

For the full 2005 fiscal year, sales were up 7.3% to $60.6 billion while net earnings rose to $958 million, or $1.31 per diluted share. Comparative supermarket sales also increased by 5.3% with fuel and 3.5% without it. In fiscal 2004, Kroger reported a net loss of $104.2 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, for the full year.

"We believe that our multi-format approach and our ability to segment our customer base uniquely position Kroger to serve the very diverse needs of today's grocery shoppers," Dillon said.