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Ingles Markets finishes fiscal year on positive note

Regional grocer posts strong Q4, full-year comp-store results

Russell Redman

December 10, 2019

2 Min Read
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At the bottom line for fiscal 2019, Ingles Markets was impacted by a year-over-year cycling of a federal income tax benefit.Ingles Markets

Ingles Markets closed out its 2019 fiscal year with sales and earnings gains for the fourth quarter, posting strong same-store sales increases for both periods.

Ingles said Tuesday that for the quarter ended Sept. 28, net sales came in at $1.08 billion, up 1.5% from $1.06 billion a year earlier. Excluding fuel, comparable-store sales climbed 3.7% year over year.

Gross profit rose 1.5% to $260.3 million from $256.4 million in the fiscal 2018 quarter. As a percentage of sales, gross profit was 24.2% for both the current and prior-year periods.

At the bottom line, net earnings for the 2019 fourth quarter totaled $20.9 million, or $1.03 per diluted Class A common share, up from $18.4 million, or 91 cents per diluted Class A common share, a year ago.

“We are pleased with another year of record sales and with the steps we are taking for the long-term health of our company,” Chairman Robert Ingle II said in a statement. “Our associates continue to do a great job making sure our customers are happy.”

For the full 2019 fiscal year, Ingles tallied net sales pf $4.2 billion, up 2.7% from $4.09 billion in fiscal 2018. Comp-store sales excluding gasoline grew 3.9% versus a year earlier.

Fiscal 2019 gross profit was $1.02 billion, or 24.3% of sales, up 4.3% from $980.2 million, or 24% of sales, in fiscal 2018.

Related:Third-quarter sales edge up at Ingles Markets

Net income for the year totaled $81.6 million, or $4.03 per diluted Class A common share, compared with $97.4 million, or $4.81 per diluted Class A common share, a year ago.

Ingles noted that the earnings result reflects the year-over-year cycling of a benefit from federal income tax reform. Income tax expense for fiscal 2019 was $25 million versus an income tax benefit of $17 million in fiscal 2018.

Capital expenditures came in at $161.8 million for fiscal 2019, compared with $150.5 million for fiscal 2018.  Asheville, N.C.-based Ingles finished the year with 198 supermarkets in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia, compared with 200 a year ago.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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