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SMITH'S CASH FLOW, VOLUME INCREASE FOR FIRST QUARTER

SALT LAKE CITY -- Smith's Food & Drug Centers here said sales and operating cash flow increased for the first quarter ended April 5. , Phoenix, last spring make quarterly comparisons meaningless.Smith's said it had a net loss of $18.2 million for the 14-week quarter, following an extraordinary charge of $25 million net representing a writeoff of deferred financing costs related to its existing bank

SALT LAKE CITY -- Smith's Food & Drug Centers here said sales and operating cash flow increased for the first quarter ended April 5.

, Phoenix, last spring make quarterly comparisons meaningless.

Smith's said it had a net loss of $18.2 million for the 14-week quarter, following an extraordinary charge of $25 million net representing a writeoff of deferred financing costs related to its existing bank term debt.

Sales for the quarter rose 20% to $831.8 million, and same-store sales rose 1.1%.

Adjusting for the additional week in this year's quarter, the company said sales would have increased 11.4%; excluding the California operation, Smith's said sales were up 34.1%. Excluding the California operations, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and last-in, first-out accounting rose 20.8% to $71.4 million, which the company said was due to the addition of the 26 Smitty's units and the opening of five new stores.

Al Rowland, president and chief operating officer, said Smith's focused in 1996 on operational opportunities and integrating Smith's and Smitty's.

"Through the successful implementation of sales initiatives, we have achieved positive results in same-store sales, and we will continue to focus on sustainable same-store sales increases," Rowland said.

He said a refinancing of the chain's senior bank facilities at lower interest rates "will enable the company to increase its future earnings."

In that refinancing, completed in March, Smith's obtained term loans totaling $600 million, plus a $150 million revolving credit facility.

1ST-QUARTER RESULTS

Qtr Ended 4/5/97 3/30/96

Sales $831.8 million $693.2 million

Change + 20.0%

Same-store + 1.1%

Net Income ($18.2 million) ($1.2 million)

Inc/Share ($1.12) (5 cents)

Includes extraordinary charge of $25 million net representing writeoff of deferred financing costs related to existing bank term debt.