ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Ingles Markets here yesterday said its aggressive store development and remodeling schedule in the second half of the year had a negative impact on fourth-quarter profits. For the period, which ended Sept. 27, net income fell about 26%, to $10.5 million. Ingles said its capital expenditures “nearly doubled” in fiscal 2008, to $248.8 million. Cap-ex for the current year is projected to be between $140 million and $160 million, the company said in a conference call yesterday.
Ingles said energy costs and disruptions to its gasoline supplies also hurt profitability in the quarter. Sales for the period rose 13%, to $842.8 million. For the year, net income fell about 11.1%, to $52.1 million, on a sales increase of 13.6%, to $3.24 billion.
Robert P. Ingle, chief executive officer, said the company “absorbed many price increases” during the fourth quarter to keep shelf prices down. “We believe this strategy is important to maintain customer loyalty and to help our customers during these uncertain economic times,” he said.
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