GIVATAYIM, Israel -- Blue Square-Israel said last week that total revenues for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 increased 15.7% to $363.9 million. Operating income rose 36.2% to $23.7 million. Net income for the quarter increased 4.8% to $10.0 million, or 27 cents per share. Blue Square is the largest retailer in Israel both in terms of sales volume and number of stores. It currently operates 148 supermarkets and 39 specialty and department stores. Supermarket revenues for the quarter increased 13%, while department and specialty store revenues increased 23%, compared with the year-ago quarter. Revenues for the full year rose 12.0% to $1.392 billion. Operating income for the year was $59.4 million, an increase of 9.0%. Net income for the period increased 1.6% to $32.7 million, or 86 cents per share. For the full year, same-store supermarket sales increased 3.2%. Same-store department and specialty store sales decreased 4.6%.
