As its merger with The Kroger Cos. continues to face opposition from the United States government, Albertsons beat Wall Street estimates on earnings and revenues, as identical sales gained.
A Yahoo Fiance-published analyst consensus estimate had earnings per adjusted diluted share at 48 cents and revenues of $18.48 billion.
Identical sales increased 2.5% in the quarter year over year, with the catalyst being growth in pharmacy revenue, while digital sales increased 24%. Net sales and other revenue came in at $18.55 billion in the period versus $18.29 billion in the year-previous period. The 2.5% ident increase drove the sales increase. Lower fuel sales partially offset the net sales advance.
Operating income was $292 million versus $454.5 million in the year-before period.
“In the second quarter of fiscal 2024, investments in our Customers for Life strategy continued to drive strong growth in our digital sales and pharmacy operations,” said Vivek Sankaran, Albertsons CEO, in announcing the financial results. “We also drove strong year-over-year growth in our loyalty members and omnichannel shoppers and accelerated growth in our Albertsons Media Collective. As we look ahead to the balance of fiscal 2024, we expect to see continuing headwinds related to investments in associate wages and benefits, an increasing mix of our pharmacy and digital businesses, which carry lower margins, and an increasingly competitive backdrop. We expect these headwinds to be partially offset by ongoing and new productivity initiatives.”
