The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company has reported a rise in it second quarter sales, as the supermarket operator continues to restructure. However, the company also reported that its losses widened in the period, compared to last year.
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Sales for the second quarter were US$1.3 billion versus $1.2bn last year. Comparable store sales increased 3.2%. Net loss from continuing operations was $2.9m or $0.07 per share in the second quarter versus a loss of $2.2 million or $0.05 per share in the same period last year.
Sales for the 28 weeks year to date were $3.0bn versus $2.9 billion in 2006. Comparable store sales increased 1.9%. Net income from continuing operations for year to date 2007 was $58.5m or $1.38 per diluted share, which includes a gain of $78.4 million from the sale of Metro Inc. shares, compared to a loss of $8.5m or $0.21 per diluted share for 2006.
Christian Haub, executive chairman of the board, said: “A&P’s strategic restructuring moved forward significantly in the second quarter, as we exited our Midwest operations, and announced the divestiture of our Southern operations, which will be completed later this quarter. This fulfills our strategy to create a strong retail presence focused in our core Northeast markets, with improved profit and growth potential.
“Our Northeast presence will be significantly strengthened by the addition of Pathmark which we now anticipate to achieve before the end of the calendar year. Alongside the ongoing improvement of our existing business, our primary objective is the completion of the Pathmark transaction, and commencement of the integration process. I am pleased with the ongoing improvement of our Northeast operations, and with the overall progress and exciting potential of our transformation strategy,” Haub said.
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By GlobalDataEric Claus, president and CEO, said: “Our core operations in the Northeast achieved markedly improved year-over-year sales in the 2nd quarter, primarily through better operating and merchandising execution, and the impact of our new store formats.
“With our exit from non-core markets virtually completed from the operating standpoint, we will focus exclusively on our Northeast business. In addition to ongoing improvement of A&P, Waldbaum’s, Food Basics and the Food Emporium in New York and New Jersey, new Fresh stores and strong marketing and customer service efforts have boosted customer traffic and sales in our Philadelphia and Baltimore Super Fresh operations, and we expect further improvement as those initiatives continue.”
