Supervalu Q4 profit beats Street, will remodel 55 to 75 units in 2011

Minneapolis -- Supervalu reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Feb. 26 slipped 2% to $95 million, compared with $97 million in the year-ago period, but results still beat Wall Street expectations.



Performance was impacted by softer sales, which dropped 6% to $8.66 billion, missing Wall Street's estimate of $8.73 billion. Same-store sales fell 5%.



Supervalu, which operates Albertsons, Jewel-Osco and Save-A-Lot chains, launched a turnaround plan more than a year ago.



“Our transformation initiatives helped us execute more effective promotions that contributed to stronger-than-anticipated results," CEO and president Craig Herkert said in a statement.



The company said that capital spending for fiscal 2012 is projected at $700 to $750 million, which will include 55 to 75 store remodels and 210 hard-discount stores, including licensed locations. No new traditional retail supermarkets are planned for fiscal 2012.



On an annual basis, the grocer reported it lost $1.51 billion, compared with earnings of $393 million in the previous year.