s here last week reported its first comp-store sales decline in 21 quarters, citing the early Easter holiday this year, the sluggish economy and increased competition. The company said comparable-store sales fell 2.9% for the 12-week period ended June 22. Profitability also declined, as net income fell 24%, to $2.98 million, compared with year-ago results. Total revenues in the quarter, including $1.67 million in gains on the sale of real estate, increased 2.6%, to $385.17 million, vs. year-ago results. On a continuing operations basis, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were up 5.4% over last year, to $16.56 million.
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Publix Super Markets here said its second-quarter net income increased by almost 18%, to $141.4 million, on a sales gain of 3.1%, to $3.8 billion, compared with results from the year-ago period. Comparable-store sales were down 1.8% for the period, which the company said was negatively impacted by the early Easter holiday this year. The employee-owned company said net income through the first half totaled $336.6 million, up 24.3%, on sales of $8 billion, up 5.1% from year-ago levels. The company said the value of its stock, which is available for sale only to employees and members of its board of directors, fell to $40 from $44.