WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — The acquisition of most of Penn Traffic's stores spurred a 25.1% increase in fourth-quarter sales for Tops Holding Corp., parent of the Tops Friendly Markets chain, the company said Thursday.
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The loss for the 12-week quarter, which ended Jan. 1, totaled $13.8 million, vs. a loss of $24.3 million in the year-ago period, which contained one extra week and also included some one-time write-downs.
Sales in the most recent quarter were $530.8 million, and same-store sales, excluding the extra week, were down 0.7%. The same-store sales decline reflected a 1% impact from acquired stores on the legacy locations, the company said.
"This was a transformational year for Tops, as we expanded our geographic reach, substantially grew our business, and strengthened our franchise with the acquisition of Penn Traffic," said Frank Curci, Tops' president and chief executive officer.
For the 52-week fiscal year, Tops posted a loss of about $27 million, vs. a loss of $26 million in the year-ago quarter. Sales for recent year, which contained 52 weeks vs. 53 in the preceding period, were up 33.1%, to $2.26 billion. The 55 acquired stores that remain in operation — including seven that have not been converted to Tops as they await and antitrust ruling — contributed $553 million.
Same-store sales for the year were up 0.1%, excluding the extra week.