American retailer The Kroger Co. posted net earnings of $391 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, and identical supermarket sales growth of 0.1% (excluding fuel) in the third quarter.
Net earnings for this same period in 2015 were $428 million, or $0.43 per diluted share.
Total sales rose 5.9% to $26.6 billion in the third quarter, an increase over the same period last year.
The company said it expects 'slightly positive' identical store sales in the fourth quarter.
Despite a tough inflationary environment, the company said that total households and loyal households increased, and tonnage and market share improved.
CEO Rodney McMullan said: "I am proud of our associates for continuing to connect with our customers in a difficult operating environment. Deflation persisted as we expected during the quarter. We are firmly focused on our long-term strategy of improving our connection with customers and associates, and continue working on process changes to lower costs. We don't change our strategy based on quarterly swings in results."
The company is maintaining its 8-11% long-term earnings per share growth target.
The company's net total debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio increased to 2.35 in Q3, compared to 1.99 in 2015, due to mergers with ModernHEALTH and Roundy's.
Kroger was named one of the top global retailers by Deloitte in January, along with Wal-Mart and Costco.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
