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A&P TO CUT BACK U.S. CAP EX

MONTVALE, N.J. -- A&P here said it will increase capital spending in its profitable Canadian division while it significantly decreases its U.S. cap ex in the current fiscal year.During a conference call with industry analysts to discuss results for the quarter and year ended Feb. 22, Mitch Goldstein, A&P's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said the company will decrease its cap-ex

MONTVALE, N.J. -- A&P here said it will increase capital spending in its profitable Canadian division while it significantly decreases its U.S. cap ex in the current fiscal year.

During a conference call with industry analysts to discuss results for the quarter and year ended Feb. 22, Mitch Goldstein, A&P's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said the company will decrease its cap-ex budget to $175 million, down from $220 million last year. He noted that last year, the company's capital spending was $60 million in Canada and $160 million in the United States.

During the call, Christian Haub, A&P's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the majority of the company's new stores and major remodels would be in Canada.

Goldstein noted that in the quarter, comparable-store sales declined in the United States by 0.87% but increased in Canada by 5.6%, leading to a companywide growth in comps of 0.5%. For the year, U.S. comps were down 1% and Canadian comps rose 6.6% to produce a companywide increase in comps of 0.4%, he said.

As for the company's overall performance, Haub said the company had "stabilized performance in the fourth quarter," observing that the fourth-quarter U.S. comps were the year's best. He added that the company is positioned "to turn around our U.S. business, while at the same time maintain the momentum of our successful Canadian operation."

In the 12-week fourth quarter, sales rose 0.3% to $2.52 billion, comparable-store sales grew 0.5%, and the company experienced a net loss of $21 million, or 54 cents per share, vs. a net income of $20.4 million, or 52 cents per share in the previous fourth quarter.

For the year, sales declined 1.8% to $10.8 billion, comps rose 0.4%, and the company experienced a net loss of $193.5 million, or $5.03 per share, vs. a net loss of $71.9 million, or $1.88.