HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Super Rite Corp. here said net earnings for the third quarter ended Nov. 27 more than doubled compared with earnings before extraordinary items in the 1992 quarter.
lion.
After the nonrecurring extraordinary item, a charge of $1.3 million related to early debt redemption, Super Rite reported a loss of $248,000 in last year's third quarter.
Sales in the third quarter declined less than 1% to $323.3 million, and through the first 39 weeks of the fiscal year sales slipped 1.4% to $927 million.
Super Rite attributed its increased earnings to an "improved performance in both the wholesale and retail segments. Wholesale earnings reflect higher gross profit as well as the leveraging of fixed expenses against greater wholesale revenue."
The company said it also recorded improved operating profit for its retail segment as a result of "the favorable performance of the four Metro superstores" and a continued improvement in the Basics supermarket division.
The four new Basics stores, which average more than 55,000 square feet, operate in the metropolitan Baltimore market. Basics, a 20-store division, operates in both Baltimore and Washington.
Super Rite attributed a portion of the sales decline in the quarter and 39 weeks to the exclusion from its results of seven Basics stores in the Washington area. The stores are subject to a tentative sales agreement, Super Rite said. It did not name the prospective buyer.
On a comparable basis, or excluding the seven units from year-ago results, Super Rite said its retail sales would have increased 3%. The actual retail sales result showed a 22.9% decline.
In a recent industry report, Ken Bann, a securities analyst at Bear Stearns, New York, said he expected Super Rite to continue to improve its results because of its store expansion plans. The company should add about three new retail units of 57,000 square feet per year, Bann said.
