Sponsored By

Sobeys Q3 sales dip on closures

Sobeys on Thursday said store closures and divestitures caused sales to decrease during the fiscal third quarter, but earnings improved as a result of synergies from its Safeway Canada acquisition.

Jon Springer, Executive Editor

March 12, 2015

1 Min Read
Supermarket News logo in a gray background | Supermarket News

Sobeys on Thursday said store closures and divestitures caused sales to decrease during the fiscal third quarter, but earnings improved as a result of synergies from its Safeway Canada acquisition.

Sales at the Stellarton, Nova Scotia, company totaled $4.7 billion (U.S.) for the quarter, which ended Jan. 31, a decline of 1.1% from the same period a year ago. Non-fuel same-store sales improved by 3%; and 1.9% including fuel.

The sales decline reflected effects of a store rationalization effort and divestitures associated with the acquisition of Canada Safeway, offset partially by inflation, Sobeys said. Sobeys closed 50 stores over the summer.

CONNECT WITH SN ON TWITTER

Follow @SN_News for updates throughout the day.

Net earnings of $97.5 million (U.S.) were essentially flat, but when adjusted for discontinued operations improved by 39.6%, officials said.

Sobeys during the quarter completed the transition of Safeway’s systems onto Sobey’s SAP platform, which the company said would allow for its second phase of cost synergies to proceed as expected. Sobeys has targeted $200 million (Cdn.) in annual synergy savings as a result of the combination.

 

About the Author

Jon Springer

Executive Editor

Jon Springer is executive editor of Winsight Grocery Business with responsibility for leading its digital news team. Jon has more than 20 years of experience covering consumer business and retail in New York, including more than 14 years at the Retail/Financial desk at Supermarket News. His previous experience includes covering consumer markets for KPMG’s Insiders; the U.S. beverage industry for Beverage Spectrum; and he was a Senior Editor covering commercial real estate and retail for the International Council of Shopping Centers. Jon began his career as a sports reporter and features editor for the Cecil Whig, a daily newspaper in Elkton, Md. Jon is also the author of two books on baseball. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English-Journalism from the University of Delaware. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his family.

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like