A&P loss widens

Montvale, N.J. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. on Tuesday recorded a fiscal fourth-quarter loss as cash-strapped consumers pulled back spending at the supermarket.

The operator of the A&P grocery chain posted a loss of $111.1 million in the quarter ended Feb. 28. That compares with a loss of $61.5 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.

The latest quarter included $56.6 million in depreciation and amortization costs.

Revenue at the company rose 4% to $2.29 billion from $2.2 billion. Same-store sales fell 1.3% during the quarter.

“The current challenging economic environment has clearly impacted our business, as it has all in our industry. That being said, A&P has continued to make progress on many fronts and we have plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the future of our company, including good performance in our Fresh, Gourmet and Discount businesses and the realization of target synergies from the Pathmark acquisition,” said Christian Haub, executive chairman of the board, A&P.

For the full fiscal year, A&P reported a loss of $139.9 million, compared with a loss of $160.7 million the year before. Revenue rose 49% to $9.52 billion from $6.4 billion.