Safeway Q3 net up, helped by sales of Genuardi’s stores

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. posted a lower profit from continuing operations for the third quarter on Thursday, but its net profit rose to $157 million from $130.2 last year, helped by the sale of some of its Genuardi's stores. The company reported income from continuing operations of $108.0 million for the quarter ended Sept. 8, compared with $130.3 million in third quarter 2011.



Total sales inched down 0.2% to $10.05 billion from $10.06 billion, hurt by the Genuardi's shuttering and a lower Canadian exchange rate, partly offset by higher fuel sales. Same-store sales, excluding fuel, rose 0.1%.



During the quarter, Safeway closed one Genuardi's store and sold 16 Genuardi's locations for an after-tax gain of $49 million.