CINCINNATI, OH - As it builds out its growth strategies, Kroger's recent moves are a prime display of the company's impressive success over the past year. The retailer recently pulled back the curtain on its Second Quarter Results, revealing strong growth metrics and demonstrating confidence in its own retail prowess, as the company has now raised its full-year 2021 guidance and is looking toward future growth next quarter.

"Our strategic focus on leading with fresh and accelerating with digital continues to build momentum across our business," said Rodney McMullen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Kroger's seamless ecosystem is working. This was evident during the quarter as we saw customers seamlessly shift between channels and we continued to see strong digital engagement. Customers are eating more food at home because it is more affordable, convenient, and healthier than other options."

Kroger revealed strong quarterly results in the report, showcasing the success of its digital-focused strategies. According to the report, total company sales weighed in at $31.7 billion in the second quarter compared to $30.5 billion for the same period last year, which is a gain of $1.2 billion. In its digital segment specifically, Kroger saw sales grow 114 percent over its two-year stack.

"We are leveraging technology, innovation, and our competitive moats to deliver against the initiatives outlined at our 2021 investor day, and we remain confident in our ability to deliver total shareholder returns of 8 percent to 11 percent over time,” McMullen continued.

All of this success has led to an impressive shift in Kroger's forward-looking vision, as the retailer raised its full-year 2021 guidance as a result of these strong quarterly results.

"Kroger's strong execution resulted in identical sales above our internal expectations for the second quarter, and we continued to remove costs from the business," said Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip. "Driven by the momentum in our results and sustained food at home trends, we are raising our full-year guidance. We now expect our two-year identical sales stack to be in the range of 12.6 percent to 13.1 percent. We expect our adjusted net earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $3.25 to $3.35. We are emerging stronger through the pandemic and are confident in our ability to deliver sustainable earnings growth and total shareholder return."

Additional details of the report include:

• Identical sales without fuel decreased 0.6 percent; two-year stack increased 14.0 percent
• EPS of $0.61; Adjusted EPS of $0.80
• Operating Profit of $839 million; Adjusted FIFO Operating Profit of $947 million
• Gross margin 21.4 percent of sales
• Net total debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio 1.78 compared to 1.70 a year ago

AndNowUKnow will keep a pulse on the newswire as the retailer accelerates its forward growth strategies to back this decisive move. As always, keep clicking back to read the latest.

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