Supervalu 1Q profit up 9 percent, cuts 2009 view

Chief Executive Jeff Noddle said Supervalu is taking a cautious approach for the rest of the year because of rising food and energy costs. The Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company cut its outlook for both fiscal 2009 profit and sales growth.

"Today's economic environment is quite different than what we anticipated a few months ago when we gave our fiscal 2009 guidance," Noddle said during a conference call with investors and analysts.

Shares fell $1.83, or 6.6 percent, to $25.99 Tuesday after hitting a 52-week low of $25.88 earlier in the session.

Profit for the three months ended June 14 rose to $162 million, or 76 cents per share, from $148 million, or 69 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Sales rose slightly to $13.35 billion from $13.29 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 76 cents per share and sales of $13.19 billion.

The results benefited from the slight rise in sales, which came mainly from the company's supply chain services division. That unit distributes products, including meat, produce and bakery items, to grocery retailers.

Sales fell in Supervalu's retail food division--its largest. The company said it saw consumers "trading down," or switching to lower-priced brands or sale items, and saw a small dip in the number of customers in its stores. That was partially offset by higher average checks from price increases and consumers consolidating their shopping into fewer trips.

Interest expenses and general corporate expenses also fell in the quarter, helping to boost profit. The drop came, in part, from lower costs associated with the company's integration of the Albertson's stores it bought in 2006.

Supervalu now expects profit between $3 and $3.16 per share for the year, or $3.04 to $3.20 per share excluding one-time costs. It had previously expected profit between $3.06 and $3.22 per share, or between $3.10 or $3.25 per share excluding special items.