MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Closing a recent acquisition and celebrating a boost in net sales, SuperValu touts the third quarter of its fiscal 2018 as a success.

"We're pleased to have completed our acquisition of AG Florida early in the fourth quarter," said President and CEO Mark Gross. "The work done in the third quarter concluded with this deal which, combined with the acquisition of Unified Grocers earlier this fiscal year, demonstrates our commitment to the strategic growth of our Wholesale business. Furthermore, we're extremely pleased with the integration work at Unified and the progress made in that market."

The retailer reported net sales of $3.94 billion and net earnings from continuing operations of $18 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, according to a press release. This included $4 million of after-tax merger and integration costs and $1 million of after-tax store closure charges and costs.

Gross continued, "In addition to these recent acquisitions, we continue to achieve strong underlying growth in our Wholesale business. With the influx of significant new business in certain distribution centers, we experienced a larger-than-anticipated increase in expenses, but we're encouraged by the work we are doing to address those costs and believe they are manageable going forward. We remain committed to investing in our Wholesale business to drive future growth.”

The detailed highlights of the financial quarter included:

• Consolidated net sales increased by $935 million, or 31%, over last year’s third quarter
• Wholesale net sales increased by $982 million, or 52%, over last year’s third quarter, including Unified Grocers that contributed approximately $860 million to net sales this year
• Third quarter net earnings from continuing operations of $18 million; Adjusted EBITDA of $96 million

Net loss from continuing operations for last year’s third quarter, which included $25 million of net after-tax charges and costs, was $11 million. From its retail aspect, SuperValu stated that it saw $1.02 billion in net sales compared to $1.06 billion last year, a decrease of 4.1 percent.

From corporate operations third quarter fees earned under services agreements were $33 million, compared to $37 million last year.

Looking forward, the retailer said that it currently expects net earnings from continuing operations to be in the range of $(20) million to $2 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $475 million to $485 million, including the contribution from Unified Grocers and Associated Grocers of Florida.

AndNowUKnow will keep you up on the latest as 2018 continues to unfold on the calendar and in the books.

SuperValu