Alberston’s Rebounds With Record Sales And Profits

Albertson’s Inc., one of the nation’s largest drug and grocery retailers, rebounded in late summer and fall from two straight quarterly declines to again post record sales and profits in the third quarter.

The Boise-based corporation, whose status as the nation’s fourth-largest chain is being challenged by a rapidly expanding Fred Meyer Inc., reported on Monday that net earnings for the August-October period up 16 percent over the year-earlier period on a 7 percent increase in sales.

The company put profits at $123.4 million, or 16 cents per share of common stock, on just over $3.6 billion in sales. The third quarter of 1996 produced $106.4 million, or 15 cents a share, in profits on just under $3.4 billion in sales.

It boosted profits for the first three-quarters of the year to $342.1 million, or 48 cents a share, on $10.9 billion in sales compared with $339.5 million, or 45 cents a share, on $10.2 billion in sales a year ago.

Albertson’s stock closed at $44.37-1/2 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, up 62-1/2 cents for the day.

In addition to putting the company back ahead of last year’s financial total’s, the performance returned Albertson’s to its long-standing trend of quarterly record sales and earnings that was broken during the first and second quarter when profits fell short of year-earlier levels for the first time in nearly a quarter century.

Corporate officials blamed the declines on Albertson’s attempts to expand both its outlets and sales. They opened 70 new stores last year.

“We are building our sales by providing solutions to customer needs,” Chief Financial Officer Craig Olson said in a statement. He specifically cited new and expanded convenience and organic food and other services along with neighborhood marketing, target advertising and store remodeling.

Expansion continued to help boost sales with the addition of 11 more stores during the quarter to total 35 new outlets during the first nine months of the business year. And Albertson’s officials plan to add another 31 more stores during its final quarter.

But unlike the second quarter, when same-store sales actually fell a fraction of a percentage point, those comparable outlet sales increased 1.2 percent during the third quarter.

Albertson’s, which is fighting a flurry of lawsuits over uncompensated employee overtime and punitive actions against managers whose employees file workers’ compensation claims, continued its stock buyback program. Another 507,200 shares were purchased for $17.8 million, bringing the buy-back this year to 5.4 million shares at $194 million.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market and American Stock Exchange:

NYSE

Travelers Group, up 1-5/8 at 50-7/8.

Salomon, up 15/16 at 52-3/4.

The investment banking firm wrapped up its buyout of the parent company of Salomon Brothers for $9 billion. The combined investment company will have $250 billion in assets.

Suncor Energy Inc., down 2-3/16 at 32-15/16

The company’s oil and gas group is down 2.5 percent, apparently due to recent turbulence in Asian economies, the Dow Jones News Service reported.

NASDAQ

EntreMed, up 3-3/8 at 15-1/4.

The company’s experimental protein successfully shrank tumors in mice, according to a cover study published in the medical journal Nature. The Rockville, Md., biotechnology company develops products that act on blood.