Winn Dixie Q3 profit up 10%

Jacksonville, Fla. Winn-Dixie Stores on Monday reported a 10% gain in profit for the fiscal third quarter and raised its adjusted guidance for the year.

The grocery store operator said after the market closed that it earned $16.6 million for the quarter ended April 1. That’s up from $15 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Total sales grew slightly to $1.73 billion for the quarter from $1.72 billion.

Same-store sales rose 0.2%. The company said its sales results were hurt by the timing of the Easter holiday, which was included in the third quarter of the prior year but not 2009.

Winn-Dixie raised its guidance for the full year, saying it expects to earn $145 million to $152 million before income, taxes, debt and amortization, up from a previous estimate of $110 million to $125 million.