Safeway Earnings Up 14.5 Percent
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Safeway Inc. on Friday said its third-quarter earnings rose 14.5 percent, as total sales gained on the acquisition of the Genuardi's chain and new store openings.
The No. 3 U.S. grocery chain also said it increased it stock buyback program.
Safeway, which operates 1,759 stores including Safeway, Vons and Dominick's, said it earned $309.2 million, or 60 cents a share, in the period ended Sept. 8, compared with $270 million, or 53 cents, in the year-ago period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The company matched the analysts' mean estimate of 60 cents per share, within a range of 59 cents to 61 cents, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.
Safeway shares gained 99 cents to $39.49 Friday in New York Stock Exchange trade.
Sales at stores open at least a year -- or same-store sales, a key measure of retail performance -- gained 1.6 percent during the quarter, Safeway said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Total sales increased to $8.0 billion from $7.5 billion last year, helped by contributions from its February acquisition of Norristown, Pennsylvania-based Genuardi's, as well as new store openings and higher sales at continuing stores.
The Pleasanton, California-based company said it increased its share buyback program by $500 million to $1.5 billion. Safeway said it repurchased 4.6 million shares for $191.1 million in the quarter.
``Current market conditions provide an excellent opportunity for us to buy back our shares,'' said Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Burd.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Shares of Safeway have slid about 35 percent since the beginning of the year, underperforming the broad-based Standard & Poor's 500 index, which has fallen 23 percent during that same period.