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Sales climb in first quarter at Publix
Net earnings get lift from federal tax reform
Russell Redman
May 2, 2018
2 Min Read
Publix Super Markets Inc. posted robust sales and earnings gains for its 2018 first quarter.
For the quarter ended March 31, Publix saw sales grow 6.8% to $9.3 billion from $8.7 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales rose a 5.1% year over year.
Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix said the increase reflects a 1.2% lift from the calendar shift for the Easter holiday, which was in the first quarter in 2018 versus the second quarter in 2017.
Net income for the 2018 first quarter surged 22.5% to $680.3 million, or 93 cents per share, compared with $555.3 million, or 73 cents per share, a year ago. Publix noted that earnings got a bump up from a lower federal income tax rate, which fell from 35% to 21% effective this year with the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
However, Publix said, net income and earnings per share for the quarter were negatively impacted by a new accounting standard. The measure requires equity securities to be assessed at fair value, meaning that net unrealized gains and losses from changes in the fair value must be recognized in earnings. Excluding the impact of the new standard, net earnings would have been $704.2 million, up 26.8%, and EPS would have been 96 cents for the quarter, the company reported.
As of May 1, Publix’s stock price was $41.75 per share, up from $41.40. Because the company is employee-owned, its stock isn’t publicly traded and is only available to Publix associates and members of its board of directors.
“I’m proud of our team’s results and pleased with our stock price increase, considering the volatility in the stock market,” Publix President and Chief Executive Officer Todd Jones said in a statement.
Publix, which totaled sales of $34.6 billion in 2017, operates 1,182 supermarkets in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
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