Kroger Co (KR) on Friday revised up its annual sales and earnings forecasts on robust demand for groceries and household essentials.
Kroger posted a 56.5% surge to $731 million in its net income attributable to shareholders during the second quarter.
Excluding special items, the company earned $0.90 per share, while exceeding Wall Street estimates of $0.83 per share.
The US grocer now expects full-year earnings per share within the range of $3.95 to $4.05, up from a previously forecast range of $3.85 to $3.95 per share.
“We saw incredible engagement in our (private-label) brands during the quarter with identical sales growth of 10.2% compared to last year,” Kroger’s Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Kroger’s same-store sales, excluding fuel, went up 5.8% year-on-year during the second quarter, which also outstripped market consensus of a 4.6% growth.
For fiscal 2022, Kroger now expects adjusted same-store sales growth between 4% and 4.5%, which compares with a previous forecast of a 2.5% to 3.5% growth.
The shares of Kroger Company closed higher for the fifth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Friday. It has also been the sharpest single-session gain since March 3rd. The stock went up 7.40% ($3.58) to $51.94, after touching an intraday high at $52.00. The latter has been a price level not seen since June 8th ($52.27).
The shares of Kroger Company have risen 14.76% so far in 2022 compared with a 14.66% loss for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
In 2021, Kroger Co’s stock went up 42.51%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 26.89% gain.
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