Supervalu Posts Loss Due to Impairment Charges

Minneapolis Supervalu Inc. posted a quarterly net loss of nearly $3 billion on Wednesday due to asset-impairment charges, but earnings before one-time items were slightly above Wall Street expectations.

The company also lowered its 2009 earnings forecast.

The owner of the Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's and Save-A-Lot chains posted a loss of $2.94 billion for the fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 29, compared with a profit of $141 million a year earlier. The loss included non-cash impairment charges of $3.3 billion as the company wrote down the value of some assets.

Net sales edged down to $10.17 billion from $10.21 billion a year earlier. Retail food net sales were flat at $7.9 billion.