Albertsons Reports 243 Pct Digital Sales Growth

Albertsons Companies Inc. reported on Tuesday (Oct. 20) digital sales growth of 243 percent and identical sales growth of 13.8 percent for Q2, according to an announcement.

“We continue to successfully execute against our strategic priorities, which translated into outstanding second-quarter results,” Albertsons President and CEO Vivek Sankaran said in the announcement. “We have a value proposition that is resonating with customers and driving market share gains across all of our markets.”

The supermarket chain’s gross profit margin grew to 29 percent in Q2 in contrast to 27.8 percent in Q2 fiscal 2019. Gross profit margin expanded by 85 basis points in contrast to Q2 fiscal 2019, excluding the effect of gasoline.

Selling and administrative expenses fell to 25.6 percent of sales in Q2 fiscal 2020, in contrast to 26.8 percent of sales for Q2 fiscal 2019. As a percentage of sales, selling and administrative expenses fell 175 basis points, excluding the effect of gasoline.

Interest expense was $128.6 million in Q2 fiscal 2020 in contrast to $177.5 million in Q2 fiscal 2019. “The decrease in interest expense was primarily attributable to lower average outstanding borrowings and lower average interest rates,” according to the announcement.

As for its overall results, Albertsons Companies reported diluted net income per share of 49 cents on sales and other revenue of $15.8 billion. The results beat analyst expectations of 25 cents of earnings on $15.5 billion in revenue.

The news comes as Albertsons registered a 276 percent rise in digital sales during its fiscal Q1 concluding June 20, as COVID-19 pushed shoppers to the web.

The supermarket chain registered overall sales and revenue of $22.8 billion for Q1, up 21.4 percent over the same timeframe in 2019, when Albertsons reported revenue of $18.7 billion.

“We generated strong financial performance in the first quarter, including robust cash flow and enhanced liquidity, which support our continued investment to benefit our associates, customers, communities and stockholders,” Sankaran said in a press release at the time.