MILAN, Ill. -- Eagle Food Centers here said late last month it was not possible to predict when it will be able to exit from its bankruptcy reorganization. The company filed a voluntary petition for a Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago early in April.
signment of two stores during fiscal 2002. Eagle said it closed another two stores during the first quarter of 2003.
In fiscal 2002, the company reported a loss of $17.8 million, or $5.73 per share, compared with a loss of $1.5 million, or 48 cents per share, in the previous fiscal year. Eagle blamed the increased loss to the sales decline; an increase in health, wage and benefit costs; and the impairment of long-term assets.
Gross margins also declined at the company in fiscal 2002 to 27.64% of sales, compared with 28.31% a year earlier. Eagle said the falloff was due primarily to lower sales, a reduction in vendor funding, and the impact of lower gross margins at eight Eagle Discount Foods stores that were converted back to the Eagle Country Market format during the second quarter of fiscal 2002.
Capital expenditures, including property held for sale, were $4.7 million in fiscal 2002, vs. $7.4 million in the previous fiscal year, according to the company. Eagle said it completed four major remodels in 2002, with no major remodels in progress at the end of the fiscal year.
