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Publix says pandemic boosted fiscal 2020 sales by 12.1%

Comparable sales climb by double digits for Q4 and full year

Russell Redman

March 2, 2021

3 Min Read
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For the full fiscal 2020 year, Publix saw net earnings rise by $1 billion to $4 billion.Publix Super Markets

Publix Super Markets tallied big sales and earnings gains for its 2020 fourth quarter and fiscal year, fueled by booming consumer demand for food and groceries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the quarter ended Dec. 26, sales climbed 14.8% to $11.2 billion from $9.8 billion a year earlier, with same-store sales rising 13.4% year over year, Publix reported yesterday. The Lakeland, Fla.-based grocer estimated that the pandemic’s impact lifted sales for the period by 8.7%, or about $850 million.

Fiscal 2020 sales came in at $44.9 billion, up 17.7% from $38.1 billion a year ago. Comparable-store sales surged 16% from fiscal 2019. The coronavirus crisis boosted fiscal 2020 sales by 12.1%, or about $4.6 billion, Publix said.

At the bottom line, Publix posted fourth-quarter net income of $1 billion, or  $1.47 per share, compared with $789.3 million, or $1.11 per share, in the 2019 quarter. Adjusted net earnings, which exclude net unrealized gains on equity securities in 2020 and 2019, were $918.5 million, or $1.32 per share, versus $656.6 million, or 93 cents per share, in the prior-year period. 

For the full year, net income totaled $4 billion, or $5.67 per share, compared with $3 billion, $4.21 per share, in 2019. On an adjusted basis, excluding net unrealized gains on equity securities in 2020 and 2019, net earnings for fiscal 2020 were $3.7 billion, or $5.27 per share, versus $2.6 billion, or $3.67 per share, a year earlier.

Related:Publix offers store gift card to employees receiving COVID-19 vaccine

In its annual 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Publix said profit from incremental sales driven by higher customer purchases of food and cleaning supplies during the pandemic “more than offset the additional costs incurred.” The latter included additional payroll, transportation and other costs to meet escalated sales demand and implement safety measures for employees and customers.

Publix reported that its stock price rose $60.20 per share on March 1 from $57.95 per share on Nov. 1. An employee-owned company, the supermarket chain doesn’t publicly trade its shares, which are available for sale only to current Publix associates and board members.

During 2020, Publix opened 39 supermarkets — including nine replacement locations — and remodeled 154 stores, the company said in the 10-K filing. Fourteen supermarkets were closed, but five are slated to be replaced on-site. As of the fiscal year close on Dec. 28, the retailer had 1,264 supermarkets, up from 1,239 at the start of the year. Net new supermarkets added 1.2 million square feet in 2020, a gain of 2.1%.

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Publix said in its annual report that, as of the fiscal 2020 year-end, 20 supermarkets were under construction in Florida, four in Georgia, three in Tennessee, two in Alabama and two in South Carolina. The company projects $1.6 billion in capital expenditures for 2021, up from $1.23 billion in 2020.

“It has been about a year since the start of the pandemic, and our associates’ efforts to serve our customers, communities and each other during this difficult time have been amazing,” Publix CEO Todd Jones said in a statement. “Now, by doing our part to administer the COVID‑19 vaccine, we are proud to help our communities take the next step to return to normal.”

Publix has been one of the most active supermarket chains in providing COVID-19 vaccinations, having administered over 300,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia as of Feb. 12.

On Tuesday the company opened its online registration system for COVID vaccinations for appointments at 58 in-store pharmacies in South Carolina for seniors, long-term care residents and staff, caregivers for medically fragile children, and state and local government employees and contractors involved in COVID-19 immunizations and testing. That followed announcements of vaccine availability at all 730 of its in-store pharmacies in Florida (for seniors only) and at 12 pharmacies in Georgia (for first responders, health care workers, seniors and their caregivers, and long-term care residents and staff) last week.

Currently, Publix operates 1,266 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

Read more about:

Publix Super Markets

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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