By Amy Schatz, Austin American-Statesman, Texas Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Jul. 27--Whole Foods Market Inc.'s recovery from missteps into Internet commerce continued Thursday, when the company reported a 20 percent increase in third-quarter profit from last year.
But those results were tempered by news that Whole Foods President Chris Hitt, 51, will retire to "spend additional time with his family." A 16-year veteran of the company, Hitt became Whole Foods president in 1999. He has been on a sabbatical since January, the company said. Hitt was not available for comment.
Whole Foods Chairman and chief executive John Mackey will assume the title of president. Two Whole Foods executive vice presidents, A.C. Gallo and Walter Robb, will take over the company's day-to-day operations.
A 10 percent increase in same-store sales helped Whole Foods earn $16.1 million, or 29 cents a share, for the third quarter, compared to with $13.4 million in the year-earlier quarter. That exceeded analysts' expectations, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.
The Austin-based natural foods supermarket chain opened two stores in the third quarter and now has 123 stores across the country. Another 24 stores are in development.
Whole Foods earnings have improved steadily all year. It's a marked contrast to last year, when Whole Foods gave up on Internet retail unit WholePeople.com and sold it to a Colorado company. The chain also took a $49 million charge to wind down its interest in mail-order vitamin subsidiary NatureSmart, formerly Amrion Inc. The company sold NatureSmart in May for $28 million and announced a 2-for-1 split of its shares.
Whole Foods shares closed up $1.26 a share to $28.76. The company released earnings after the market closed.
To see more of the Austin American-Statesman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.austin360.com
(c) 2001, Austin American-Statesman, Texas. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
WFMI,
No comments:
Post a Comment