CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ruddick Corp. here said that operating profit at its Harris Teeter supermarket chain increased by 17.3% for the second quarter, to $22 million, vs. $18.7 million in the year-ago second quarter.
ores last year. The loss in volume from those stores was partially mitigated by the opening of new stores and a 1.7% gain in same-store sales in the most recent period.
In the first half of the year, operating profit at Harris Teeter was $42.6 million, a 21.1% increase over operating profit of $35.2 million in the year-ago period. Harris Teeter sales for the most recent, six-month period totaled $1.18 billion, a 5.2% decline from sales of $1.24 billion in the year-ago span. Same-store sales through six months increased 0.28%.
Ruddick operates 143 Harris Teeter supermarkets and also operates American & Efird, a manufacturer and distributor of industrial sewing thread. Profits at Ruddick totaled $8.7 million in the quarter, on sales of $659.5 million, vs. a loss of $7.3 million on sales of $694 million in the year-ago second quarter.