Kroger Backs FY24 Outlook As Q1 Adj. EPS Beat Estimates; Stock Up

(RTTNews) - Supermarket chain Kroger Co. on Thursday confirmed its fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings and identical sales outlook after the first-quarter adjusted earnings beat the Street estimates. Meanwhile, the company reported weak net profit and nearly flat revenues in its first quarter.

In pre-market activity on the NYSE, Kroger shares were gaining around 3.9 percent to trade at $54.01.

Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said, "Kroger is off to a solid start in 2024 led by better-than-expected performance of our grocery business.... The long-term investments we have made to strengthen and diversify our model enables us to manage economic cycles and gives us the confidence to deliver on our full year outlook."

For fiscal 2024, the company continues to project adjusted earnings in a range of $4.30 to $4.50 per share on total identical sales growth, without fuel, of 0.25 percent to 1.75 percent.

Analysts on average expect the company to report earnings of $4.43 per share on sales of $148.7 billion, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Adjusted FIFO operating profit is still expected between $4.6 billion AND $4.8 billion.

The company further said it expects to continue to pay its quarterly dividend, which would increase over time, subject to board approval. Kroger has paused its share repurchase program to prioritize de-leveraging following the proposed merger with Albertsons.

In its first quarter, Kroger's bottom line came in at $947 million, or $1.29 per share, compared with $962 million, or $1.32 per share, in last year's first quarter.

Adjusted earnings were $1.05 billion or $1.43 per share for the period, compared to $1.51 per share last year. Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.34 per share.

In the quarter, operating profit of $1.29 billion as well as adjusted FIFO operating profit of $1.50 billion were lower than the prior year.

The company's revenue for the quarter edged up to $45.27 billion from $45.17 billion last year, while analysts expected $45.04 billion.

Excluding fuel, sales increased 0.6% compared to the same period last year.

Identical Sales without fuel in the first quarter increased 0.5%.

Kroger grew digital sales by more than 8%, with Delivery and Pickup combining for double-digit growth.

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