LAKELAND, FL — Closing out with $8.2 billion in sales, Publix Super Markets reported a strong final quarter for 2015.

“I’m pleased to report another year with excellent results,” Ed Crenshaw, Publix’s current CEO, said, according to the financial report. “Our associates deserve the credit for continuing to make us a leader in customer service.”

Publix is privately owned and operated by its 179,000 employees, and shares are not publicly traded. In light of the report, however, the retailer’s stock price increased from $41.80 per share to $45.20 per share as of yesterday, March 1st.

Highlights for the retailer’s fourth quarter included:

• $8.2 billion in sales for Q4 2015, a 4.5 percent increase from $7.9 billion at the same time last year.
• Net earnings at $521.1 million for the Q4 2015, a 15 percent increase compared to $453.3 million in 2014.
• $0.68 for earnings per share for Q4 2015, up from $0.58 per share in 2014.

Overall, the retailer saw a 13.2 percent increase in net earnings from 2014 to 2015, ending Dec. 26, 2015, closing out at $2.0 billion. This is compared to 2014’s closing at $1.7 billion. Publix also noted a 3.2 percent boost in comparable-store sales for the fourth quarter of 2015.

Publix currently has 1,110 stores in several states, including:

• Florida
• Georgia
• Alabama
• Tennessee
• South Carolina
• North Carolina

This means leaving on a high note for Crenshaw, who recently announced that he will be retiring next month after leading the company for the last eight years.

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Publix