Whole Foods ID Sales Up 9.1%

SN STAFF

AUSTIN, Texas — Whole Foods Market on Wednesday raised its sales and earnings outlook for the year after posting an identical-store sales gain of 9.1% in the first fiscal quarter.

Net income for the 16-week quarter, which ended Jan. 16, totaled $88.73 million, up 60.8% over year-ago levels. Sales for the period rose 13.8%, to just over $3 billion.

"Based on our consistently strong top- and bottom-line results, along with ongoing signs of increasing consumer confidence, we are raising our sales and earnings outlook for the year,” said Walter Robb, co-chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.

The company now expects same-store sales to grow between 7.2% and 9.2% for the full year, saying that first-quarter results “could be sustainable especially given the likelihood of some positive impact from inflation." Previous projections called for same-store sales growth of 5.5% to 7.5%.

Total sales for the year are now expected to grow 10.7% to 12.8%, up from previous projections of 10% to 12% growth. EBITDA is now projected to be $800 million to $815 million for the year, up from previous projections of $780 million to $795 million.