Albertson’s Profits Shoot Up 46 Percent

Albertson’s Inc., the nation’s fourth-largest food retailer, said Thursday first-quarter profits jumped 46 percent from the same period of 1994, from $68.2 million to $99.3 million.

The company said some of the increase was due to an accounting change recognized in the first quarter last year. Excluding the cumulative effect of the change, earnings jumped 16.6 percent.

Sales were $3.1 billion, an increase of 6 percent over the same quarter last year. Earnings per share increased 44.4 percent to 39 cents per share of common stock from 27 cents last year.