Oct 18, 2021
Albertsons Rallies on Same-Store Sales Surprise, Brighter Outlook
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) -- Albertsons Cos. shares climbed after the company posted a surprise gain in a key sales metric and raised its profit outlook.
Same-store sales rose 1.5% during the second fiscal quarter, the supermarket chain said Monday as it reported earnings, bucking Wall Street’s expectations of a 1.9% decline. Adjusted earnings for the fiscal year will be as much as $2.60 a share, up 30 cents from the previous forecast.
Albertsons is benefiting from buoyant consumer spending as customers continue to channel much of their food budget to home-cooked meals, Chief Executive Officer Vivek Sankaran said in an interview. The company is also coaxing shoppers to spend a little more at its stores compared with those of its rivals, he said.
“Consumers are still eating a lot more at home, we see those patterns seem to be sticking,” he said. “The second part of it is market-share growth. One metric I feel excited about is our market-share gains.”
Albertsons advanced 5.4% to $30.10 ahead of regular trading in New York. The shares climbed 62% this year through Oct. 15, six times the gain of an S&P index composed of five other sellers of food and staples.
At Albertsons, adjusted earnings rose to 64 cents a share in the quarter ending Sept. 11, compared with the 46-cent average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales increased 4.7% to $16.5 billion. Analysts had predicted $15.9 billion.
The Boise, Idaho-based retailer raised its quarterly dividend to 12 cents a share from 10 cents.
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