Kroger (KR) Reports Mixed Financial Results for Q4

Fahad Ali Khan
·2 min read

The history of Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) dates back to 1883 when Barney Kroger opened a grocery store in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company worked hard over the years and offered quality goods to customers. The consistency in quality and services offered by Kroger helped it to become a leading grocery retailer in the U.S. Today, it operates thousands of grocery retail stores, pharmacies, jewelry stores, as well as several food production facilities.

Kroger shares rose more than 2 percent on Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected adjusted profit for the fourth quarter. The supermarket giant reported a loss of 10 cents per share for the three months ended January 30, versus earnings of 40 cents per share in the comparable period of 2019. On an adjusted basis, Kroger earned 81 cents per share, easily beating the consensus forecast of 69 cents per share.

Revenue rose 10.7 percent on a year-over-year basis to $30.74 billion, but slightly short of the $30.83 billion figure estimated by analysts. On the bright side, digital sales in the quarter jumped 118 percent on a year-over-year basis. Same-store sales increased 10.6 percent, above the consensus projection of a 9.4 percent surge.

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Speaking on the results, CEO Rodney McMullen said, “Kroger continued to grow market share during the quarter. Our ability to meet our customers' evolving needs is a testament to our deep competitive moats, disciplined investments in our increasingly robust digital capabilities, as well as our associates' relentless focus on our customers. We finished fiscal year 2020 with strong sales and earnings, as heightened demand for fresh, convenient food and meal solutions across modalities, including in store, pick up and home delivery, continued throughout the fourth quarter.”

Looking forward, Kroger projected adjusted profit in the range of $2.75 per share to $2.95 per share for fiscal 2021, above analysts’ average estimate of $2.69 per share.

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Disclosure: No positions. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.