US grocery retailer Kroger has reported lower first-quarter net income, as earnings were dented by the southern California labour dispute earlier this year.
The company reported net income of US$262.8m, or 35 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter to 22 May 2004, compared to net earnings of $351.5m, or 46 cents per share in the year-ago period.
Kroger said it estimates the southern California labour dispute reduced net earnings by $71.6m, or 10 cents per share.
Total sales for the 16-week first quarter of fiscal 2004 increased 3.9% to $16.9bn. Identical food-store sales, including fuel, increased 1.3% and, excluding fuel, increased 0.3%. Excluding, for the entire quarter, the Ralphs and Food 4 Less stores affected by the work stoppage, identical food-store sales, including fuel, increased 1.6% and, excluding fuel, increased 0.5%.
“We are pleased that Kroger continues to grow our identical food-store sales in a challenging operating environment,” said chief executive David Dillon.
“But there is more to be done. We plan to continue making investments in pricing, customer service and product variety to deliver strong, sustainable sales growth.”
