US natural and organic retailer Whole Foods Market booked a 49% jump in fourth-quarter profits to round off a year in which earnings increased by more than a third.
Whole Foods posted net income of US$112.7m for the three months to the end of September. EBITDA increased 36% to $252.2m. Sales rose by 24% to $2.9bn. Identical-store sales were up 8.3%.
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Over the year as a whole, net income jumped 36% to $465.6m. Sales were up 16% to $11.7bn. Identical-store sales rose 8.4%.
However, Whole Foods said Hurricane Sandy had hit sales in the north-east of the US.
Shares in Whole Foods, which released its results yesterday (7 November) after the market closed, fell today. The stock was down 4.98% at $91.20.
William Blair analyst Mark Miller said: “Some investors may hesitate with the absence of a “beat and raise,” which had become routine at Whole Foods over the past several years. Also, comp-store trends have slowed modestly over the past five weeks, although this may be largely attributable to disruption from Hurricane Sandy. Given all of these elements, and considering shares are up nearly 40% year-to-date, it would not be surprising to see the stock take a breather.”
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