Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
by Carissa Wyant
Supervalu said Wednesday it expects earnings to grow in the next year, due to its newly purchased Albertson's stores.
Supervalu is expecting fiscal 2008 net income of between $2.58 and $2.77 per diluted share, including between 16 and 20 cents of one-time transaction costs and 12 cents of stock-option expenses.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial foresee net income of $2.76 per share.
Supervalu CEO Jeff Noddle said in a press release, "From a financial standpoint, we expect to deliver double-digit earnings accretion in both fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008 as we capture the potential of the new Supervalu."
The company projects sales of $44 billion, including same-stores sales growth of between 1 and 2 percent. Analysts estimate sales at $44.78 billion.
For its fiscal 2007, which ends this week, Supervalu affirmed that earnings will be between $2.34 and $2.41 per share. Sales are expected to be $37 billion.
Eden Prarie-based Supervalu (NYSE: SVU) is the nation's third-largest grocery chain. Last June, it acquired more than 1,100 stores from Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Inc., giving Supervalu a large presence in the western United States and in tough-to-enter urban markets such as Chicago. Supervalu now has 2,500 stores, up from 1,381 before the acquisition.
