American retail firm Kroger Company has raised its earnings outlook for 2022 after opening the year with growth.
- First-quarter net earnings attributable to the company jumped to $1.074 billion from $918 million, excluding adjustments for liabilities, losses, and other costs. Net earnings per diluted common share grew to $0.90 from $0.18.
- Sales for the period grew to $44.600 billion from $41.298 billion in the same quarter last year, while operating profit for the quarter increased to $1.505 billion from $805 million.
- The company now expects earnings per share for the full-year 2022 between $3.85 and $3.95, up from its earlier guidance of between $3.75 and $3.85. Identical sales growth is seen between $2.5% and 3.5%, up from 2.0% to 3.0%.
- Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said the company remains confident in delivering “sustainable” earnings growth and total shareholder returns of 8% to 11% over time.
KR was up 0.94% after hours, while COST was down 1.73% premarket.
Source: Kroger