Whole Foods Market Inc.'s fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 35% as the natural-foods supermarket gained market share at a quick clip, and it again raised its full-year outlook.A combination of a better price image and strong selection resulted in an increase in comparable-store sales of 8.4% for the fiscal third quarter, once again far exceeding sales results at other public companies.
Net income for the 12-week quarter, which ended July 3, rose 34.6% to $88.5 million and sales climbed 10.9% to $2.4 billion. For the year to date, net income increased 41.8% to $$267.1 million and sales jumped 12.2% to $7.8 billion, with comparable sales up 8.5%.
Whole Foods projected earnings of $1.91 to $1.92 a share, from its May prediction for $1.87 to $1.90 and it predicted sales growth of 12.2% to 12.4% versus the prior projection for 11.7% to 12.6%.
Walter Robb, the company's co-chief executive, said Whole Foods was continuing to gain market share at a faster rate than most publicly traded food retailers, which he said was reflected in the third quarter's same-store sales growth of 8.4%, a stronger rate than in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, gross margin crept up to 35.4% from 35.1% in the latest period. In the second quarter, margin was 35.6%.
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