Organic and healthy food specialist Whole Foods Market has announced that net profit increased by 79 per cent during the first quarter of fiscal 2010, up to US$49.7m (€36.3m, or US$0.32 per share) from US$27.8m (€20.3m, or US$20 per share) last year.
The US-based retailer, which has operations in North America and the UK, said that its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 26 per cent to US$186m (€135.8m) through the 16-week period ended 17 January 2010.
Sales through the quarter increased by 7 per cent to hit US$2.6bn (€1.9bn), with comparable store sales jumping 3.5 per cent and identical store sales up 2.5 per cent.
The improvement in results was attributed to a shift away from a reactionary pricing strategy by group co-founder and CEO John Mackey, who noted that while competitors had gone 'back and forth' on pricing, Whole Foods had remained focused on striking a balance between driving long-term sales and improving value offerings wile maintaining margin.
'Or first quarter results exceeded our own expectations on both the top and bottom line,' said Mr Mackey. 'Given the strong sales momentum we are seeing, there are many reasons to be bullish about our future results. It is relatively early in our recovery, however, and there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding where the economy, the consumer and competition go from here.
'Our raised outlook for the fiscal year reflects our cautiousness on the low end and our optimism on the high end,' he added. 'As the world moves out of this recession, we believe we are well-positioned to produce strong returns for our shareholders.'
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