Whole Foods Market here said its "outstanding operational performance" is continuing to fund its growth, with 94 leases in its pipeline, including 50 more leases signed over the last 12 months.
For the 12-week third quarter that ended July 7, net income rose 2.1% to $142 million, while sales climbed 12.1% to $3.1 billion and comparable-store sales rose 7.5%.
For the 40-week period, net income jumped 21.8% to $430 million, while sales increased 13.1% to $9.9 billion and comp-store sales were up 7.2%.
For the year-to-date Whole Foods said it has produced $818 million in cash flow from operations and invested $377 million in capital expenditures, including $226 million for new stores, resulting in free cash flow of $441 million.
Whole Foods said it expects to open 12 new stores in the fourth quarter, four of which have already opened, for a total of 32 this year, with "a high number of openings" in next year's first quarter. During 2014 it said it anticipates between 33 and 38 new store openings.
The company said it expects earnings increases for the year of 17% to 18% on sales growth of approximately 13%. In fiscal 2014 it anticipates earnings growth of 17% to 18%, sales growth of 12% to 14%, and comp-store growth of 6.5% to 8%.
