Keeping stores open during Hurricane Sandy was one of the factors that contributed to an increase in total store sales and comps in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 for Ahold USA, the supermarket operator's Dutch parent company said Thursday.
Safeway reported income from continuing operations of $108 million, or 45 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2012 compared with $130.3 million (38 centper diluted share) in the third quarter of 2011.
Undeterred by an abundance of headwinds facing conventional supermarket retailers, Safeway chairman and CEO Steve Burd expressed optimism about his company’s performance and prospects during the second half of the year.
Recent events, which have driven Wall Street analysts to speculate that Safeway is a buyout target, are not interrelated, Safeway chairman and CEO Steve Burd assured analysts Thursday morning during the grocer's first-quarter conference call.