Ruddick Corporation reported that consolidated sales for the fiscal third quarter ended June 27, 2010 increased by 7.2% to $1.10 billion, from $1.02 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2009. For the 39 weeks ended June 27, 2010, consolidated sales increased by 6.0% to $3.21 billion from $3.03 billion for the comparable period of fiscal 2009.
The increase in consolidated sales for the quarter and 39-week period was attributable to sales increases at both of the Company's operating subsidiaries - Harris Teeter, the Company's supermarket subsidiary, and American & Efird (“A&E”), the Company's sewing thread and technical textiles subsidiary.
The Company reported that consolidated net income in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 increased by 75.1% to $28.9 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, from $16.5 million, or $0.34 per diluted share in the prior year third quarter. For the 39 weeks ended June 27, 2010, consolidated net income increased by 28.5% to $80.1 million, or $1.65 per diluted share, from $62.3 million, or $1.29 per diluted share in the same period of fiscal 2009.
Net earnings for both the fiscal quarter and 39-week period were favorably impacted by significant operating profit improvements at A&E when compared to the prior year periods, operating profit improvements at Harris Teeter and a pre-tax gain of $2.1 million ($1.3 million after tax, or $0.03 per diluted share) realized in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 in connection with the exchange of one of the Company's corporate aircraft. As previously disclosed, fiscal 2009 results included non-cash charges totaling $9.9 million ($6.1 million after tax benefits, or $0.13 per diluted share) related to goodwill and long-lived asset impairments recognized by A&E.
Thomas W. Dickson, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ruddick Corporation commented that, “We continued to drive customer shopping visits and loyalty through the investments we have made in our in-store promotional activity and lower everyday prices. This has resulted in an increased number of customers, increased number of items sold and greater number of customer shopping visits in fiscal 2010.
“In addition, our customer loyalty data indicates that the number of active households increased by 1.73 % per comparable store in our fiscal third quarter. Our store brand penetration also remained strong at 24.52% for the quarter and 24.58% for the year. A portion of our investment in pricing has been offset by additional vendor funding, improved operational efficiencies and cost saving initiatives across all areas of the business. Our cost savings initiatives resulted in a reduction of 30 basis points in selling, general and administrative expenses as a percent of sales. For the third quarter of fiscal 2010, the SG&A margin was 25.65%, as compared to 25.95% in the same period last year.”
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