MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu Inc., one of the nation's largest food sellers, said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit fell more than 93 percent because of charges for selling off some stores as it gets ready to close its purchase of Albertsons Inc.
Earnings for the quarter ended Feb. 25 fell to $6 million, or 4 cents per share, from $92.9 million, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue edged up from $4.59 billion to $4.64 billion.
Supervalu, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., said store closures, and money spent on supply chain improvements, cost it $72.4 million during the quarter, cutting its earnings by 51 cents per share.
Wall Street analysts expected a profit of 56 cents per share, not counting the charges for special items, on sales of $4.69 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
For the full fiscal year, Supervalu's earnings declined 47 percent to $206.2 million, or $1.46 per share, from the previous fiscal year's profit of $385.8 million, or $2.71 per share. Annual sales edged up 2 percent to $19.86 billion from $19.54 billion.
Supervalu and drugstore chain CVS Corp. are leading a consortium that is buying much of Albertsons, the nation's second-largest grocer, for $9.7 billion. Supervalu will pay about $6.3 billion in stock and cash and assume about $6.1 billion in Albertsons debt.
Supervalu said it hopes to announce its executive lineup for the expanded company in early May, and said it hopes to give fiscal 2007 guidance by mid-May. The deal is expected to close in June.
"Fiscal 2007 will be the year we begin the transformation of Supervalu into a national retail and pharmacy powerhouse," said Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Noddle.
It said it will have about 2,500 stores when the deal is finished, up from 1,381 now.
Supervalu shares fell 8 cents to close at $29.23 on the New York Stock Exchange.