By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Kroger stock (NYSE:KR) fell 4.3% Friday after the company’s revised estimates, while better from the previous guidance, still indicated that annual sales will be lower than last year’s.
Sales growth in the second quarter also crawled as people attempted to return to normal lives by stocking up less at home compared to heavy purchases in the pandemic of 2020. They also began to eat out more as increasing vaccinations gave them confidence to step out.
The company began a few pilots during the period to expand its digital sales. It launched sushi delivery pilot with DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) in three geographies and expanded pilot with Google Maps (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to improve grocery pickup experience for customers. In Florida, it launched a $79 annual pass for unlimited delivery to customers.
The company expects identical sales in the current year to fall by 1.5% to 1% compared to the 5% to 3% erosion it expected earlier. Adjusted profit per share is seen at $3.3 at midpoint compared to the previous guidance of $2.85 at center of the range.
Total sales in the second quarter were $31.7 billion, up 4%. Excluding fuel, they fell by 0.4%. Identical sales without fuel decreased 0.6%.
Adjusted profit per share was 80 cents and beat estimates.