Albertsons comps go negative in 3Q

Same-store sales at Albertsons Cos. went negative during its fiscal third quarter, the retailer said in a filing Thursday.

The results underscored deflationary challenges in categories like meat, eggs and dairy, and cycled robust comp gains in the year ago period. Sales were reported as part of an update to Albertsons’ securities registration filing for a planned public offering of stock.

“Despite deflationary trends, we have achieved identical store sales growth on an overall basis and have been able to maintain or increase our share in the food retail channel during the first three quarters of fiscal 2016,” Albertsons said in the filing. “While we anticipate deflationary trends in certain commodities to continue through the end of fiscal 2016 and into fiscal 2017, we plan to maintain our price competitiveness in order to drive customer traffic.”

For the quarter, which ended Dec. 3, identical store sales at Albertsons stores declined by 2.1% while Safeway stores experienced a 2.2% comp decline. In the same period last year, ID sales at the units grew by 5.1% and 5.6%, respectively, but those figures were boosted by upheaval among competitors A&P and Haggen.

For the three quarters ended Dec. 3, Albertsons sales totaled $45.9 billion, a 2.1% increase from the same period last year. It’s reported a pro forma $116 million loss  through three quarters, or a $408 million loss on an actual basis. The pro forma figures give effect to IPO-related transactions and refinancings as if these events had occurred on Dec. 3.