Whole Foods Market’s income climbed 53% during the US natural and organic retailer’s fiscal third quarter on the back of market share gains.

The supermarket chain yesterday (3 August) posted US$65.7m net profit for the third quarter ended 4 July, up on the $42.8m it posted for the same period in 2009.

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EBITDA increased 27% to US$179.8m. Sales for the quarter increased 15% to US$2.2bn, while comparable-store sales increased 8.8%.

John Mackey, co-chief executive officer and co-founder of Whole Foods, said: “We are pleased with our results which compare very favourably to most other food retailers and show we are continuing to gain market share. Our identical store sales increased 8.4%, accelerating from the second quarter and our highest increase since 2006.

“Despite tougher comparisons and the recent dip in reported consumer confidence, our two-year stacked identical store sales also sequentially increased to 4.6%.”

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The company is forecasting 11.7-11.9% sales growth for the 2010 financial year and 10-13% growth for the 2011 financial year.

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It is estimating US$698-702m EBITDA for the 2010 financial year and then $775-790m for the 2011 financial year.

“We are projecting steady sales growth for next year and are committed to delivering incremental operating margin improvement as well as earnings growth in excess of sales growth,” said Walter Robb, Whole Foods’ other co-CEO. “We believe this guidance appropriately reflects a tempering of our enthusiasm over current sales growth trends with conservatism due to the competitive environment and the economy.”