US supermarket group Harris Teeter has booked a drop in operating profit as higher costs more than offset sales gains in the first half.

In a filing yesterday (2 May), the company said sales edged up in the six months to 2 April, climbing to US$2.33bn, up from $2.23bn in the corresponding period of last year.

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The group said operating profit was dented by higher selling expenses, dropping to $96.77m from $98.75m in the corresponding period of last year. Operating margins fell to 4.15% from 4.41%, the group added.

Harris Teeter’s bottom line did benefit from lower income tax expenses and a year-ago loss from discontinued operations of $12.4m. Net earnings rose to $55.67m from $43.9m, the group revealed. On a comparable basis, excluding discontinued business, 2012 first-half net earnings totalled $56.3m.

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