A renewed fresh food emphasis and expanded digital operations helped The Kroger Co. set financial records in the 2021 fiscal year and beat fourth-quarter Wall Street estimates in the process.
In the fourth quarter, Kroger recorded company net earnings of $566 million, or 75 cents per diluted share, versus a net loss of 77 million, or 10 cents per diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter.
Adjusted for one-time events, Kroger’s net earnings were $686 million, or 91 cents per diluted share, versus $630 million, or 81 cents per diluted share, in the year-prior period, the company reported.
Kroger beat a Yahoo Finance-published analyst consensus earnings per share estimate of 74 cents per diluted share and a sales estimate of $32.86 billion.
Identical sales increase by 4% in the quarter year over year and 14.6% on a two-year stack basis.
Kroger posted sales of $33.05 billion in the quarter versus $30.74 billion in the year-previous period. Operating profit was $965 million versus an operating loss of $158 million in the year-before period.
In the full year, Kroger recorded company net earnings of $1.66 billion, or 2.17 cents per diluted share, versus $2.59 billion, or $3.27 per diluted share, in the year earlier.
Adjusted earnings per share were $2.8 billion, or $3.68 per diluted share, versus $2.74 billion, or $3.47 per diluted share, in the year prior, the company noted.
Kroger posted full-year sales of $137.89 billion versus $132.5 billion in the year previous. Operating profit was $3.48 billion versus $2.78 billion in the year before.
Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen, said, “Our strategy of leading with fresh and accelerating with digital propelled Kroger to record performance in 2021, on top of record results in 2020. As we look to 2022, we expect the momentum in our business to continue and have confidence in our ability to navigate a rapidly changing operating environment. We are leveraging technology, innovation and our competitive moats to build lasting competitive advantages. Our balanced model is allowing us to deliver for shareholders, invest in our associates, continue to provide fresh affordable food to our customers and uplift our communities. We remain confident in our growth model and our ability to deliver total shareholder returns of 8% to 11% over time.”
