Fresh Market Inc.'s (TFM) fiscal second-quarter earnings increased 17% as the specialty grocer recorded a double-digit increase in sales.
The company lowered its full-year earnings guidance to a range of $1.50 to $1.55 a share from its prior forecast of $1.51 to $1.58 a share. It lifted the low end of its same-store sales outlook, now projecting growth of 3% to 4.5%. Its previous outlook called for same-store-sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5%
Fresh Market, which went public in late 2010, focuses on higher-margin foods and services such as imported cheeses, organic produce and on-site butchers. Located predominantly in the southeastern U.S., Fresh Market has a smaller footprint than rival Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) but has been growing.
Fresh Market said it intends to open 21 to 22 new stores in fiscal 2013. As of July 28, it operated 136 stores in 26 states.
For the quarter ended July 28, Fresh Market reported a profit of $15.6 million, or 32 cents a share, up from $13.3 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 13% to $354.8 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently projected earnings of 32 cents a share and revenue of $357 million. Same-store sales improved 3.4%, the result of a 1.6% rise in average transaction size and a 1.8% increase in the number of transactions. Gross margin widened slightly to 34.2% from 34.1%.
The year-ago quarter included $1.1 million of transaction costs related to a public stock offering and legal-settlement payments.
The company lowered its full-year earnings guidance to a range of $1.50 to $1.55 a share from its prior forecast of $1.51 to $1.58 a share. It lifted the low end of its same-store sales outlook, now projecting growth of 3% to 4.5%. Its previous outlook called for same-store-sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5%
Fresh Market, which went public in late 2010, focuses on higher-margin foods and services such as imported cheeses, organic produce and on-site butchers. Located predominantly in the southeastern U.S., Fresh Market has a smaller footprint than rival Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) but has been growing.
Fresh Market said it intends to open 21 to 22 new stores in fiscal 2013. As of July 28, it operated 136 stores in 26 states.
For the quarter ended July 28, Fresh Market reported a profit of $15.6 million, or 32 cents a share, up from $13.3 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 13% to $354.8 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently projected earnings of 32 cents a share and revenue of $357 million. Same-store sales improved 3.4%, the result of a 1.6% rise in average transaction size and a 1.8% increase in the number of transactions. Gross margin widened slightly to 34.2% from 34.1%.
The year-ago quarter included $1.1 million of transaction costs related to a public stock offering and legal-settlement payments.
