US: Store development costs hit Ingles Markets profits

By: just-food.com | 30 April 2010

US retailer Ingles Markets booked a drop in half-year profits hit by costs associated with the firm’s store development activity.

For the six months ended 27 March, net income totalled US$11.6m compared with $18.9m in the prior year.

The decline, Ingles Markets said today (30 April), was due to higher interest expense, other costs associated with the company’s accelerated store development activity during the previous two fiscal years, and slower ramp up in profitability of new stores due to the economic recession.

Net sales, however, increased to $1.68bn from $1.59bn in the comparable 2009 period.

Robert Ingle, CEO, said: “In this challenging economic and competitive environment we continue to focus on growth in sales and customer traffic. We’re experiencing success in both those areas even though it’s not yet reflected in our bottom line.”

In the second quarter, net sales increased by $47.8m to reach $837m, while net profits dropped to $5.6m from $7.8m in the comparable quarter of 2009.