Supervalu has reported that it made a net loss of US$2.9bn for fiscal year 2008/09, down from earnings of US$593m in 2007/08, while net sales increased slightly to US$44.6bn from US$44bn last year.
Net sales for the fourth quarter of the year hit US$10.8bn, the group said in a statement, with an overall net loss of US$201m during the period. Food sales represented 78.5 per cent of total net sales.
'It's good to wrap up fiscal 2009 with fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share on a comparable basis exceeding last year by 5 per cent,' said CEO Jeff Noddle. 'As we enter fiscal 2010, we anticipate a challenging economic environment, but remain focused on executing the strategic initiatives that will drive sustainable long-term sales and earnings growth.'
The group is expecting to generate net sales of US$43bn for the year 2009/10, with identical store sales growth of between -1 to 1 per cent.