As it awaits a merger with The Kroger Co., Albertsons continues to advance, posting sales and adjusted earnings gains above expectations.
A Yahoo Finance-published analyst consensus estimate called for earnings per adjusted diluted share of 67 cents and revenues of $18.22 billion.
Net revenue was $18.27 billion compared to $17.38 billion in the year-prior quarter. Operating income was $433.6 million versus $664.3 million in the year-before period, Albertsons noted.
Identical sales increased by 5.6% while digital sales advanced by 16% in the quarter year over year.
For the full fiscal year, net income was $1.51 billion, or $2.27 per diluted share, versus $1.62 billion, or $2.70 per diluted share, in the year earlier, the company stated. Adjusted net income was $1.97 billion, or $3.37 per diluted share, versus $1.78 billion, or $3.07 per diluted share, in fiscal 2021.
Net revenue was $77.65 billion compared to $71.89 billion in fiscal 2021. Operating income was $2.31 billion versus $2.44 billion in the year before, Albertsons maintained.
Idents increased 6.9% while digital sales advanced 28% year over year.
In announcing the financial results, Vivek Sankaran, Albertson CEO, said, “We are pleased with our fourth quarter financial results and the suite of capabilities we continue to build in our business. We want to thank all our teams for their commitment to bringing people together around the joys of food and inspiring well-being, and for serving our customers and communities. These results, and our results for fiscal 2022 overall, were fueled by the rollout of our Customers for Life transformation strategy, which places the customer at the center of everything we do, with the ultimate goal of supporting them every day, every week and for a lifetime. Against this backdrop, throughout the year, we invested in the following initiatives: digitally connecting and engaging our customers through a frictionless omnichannel experience, differentiating our store experience, enhancing what we offer and where we offer it, modernizing our operational capabilities, and further embedding ESG throughout our operations.”
As the company looks forward, he said: “We believe we are well-positioned to drive top-line growth by deepening relationships with our customers even as inflation continues. However, we also believe that the economic backdrop is uncertain and is likely to be more challenging later in the year. We have prepared our business for a more difficult consumer environment, and are expecting significant labor investments and inflationary cost increases. Additionally, we expect further declines in COVID-19 vaccination and at-home test kit revenue. These headwinds are expected to be partially offset by the ongoing growth in our core business and the benefits from the next phase of our productivity initiatives.”
On October 13, 2022, Albertsons entered into an agreement and plan of merger with The Kroger Co. and Kettle Merger Sub. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Kroger would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Albertson’s common stock and convertible preferred stock on an as-converted basis for total consideration of $34.10 per share. The merger process is continuing.
