PLEASANTON, Calif. -- Safeway here said strong store operations helped boost sales and earnings for the third quarter and 36 weeks ended Sept. 12.
.8% for the quarter; the company said it does not calculate comp sales for the year to date.
Net income rose 115% to $193.7 million for the quarter and $61.1% to $551.7 million for the first three quarters.
The company said net income for the prior year was affected by an extraordinary loss related to early retirement of debt, totaling $59.9 million for the year-ago quarter and $64.1 million for the year-ago 36 weeks.
The big jump in year-to-date sales resulted from the company's first-quarter results, which reflected Safeway's acquisition of 320 stores from Vons Cos., Arcadia, Calif., during last year's first quarter.
