Last updated on February 9th, 2016 at 03:22 pm
Ingles Markets will open its new Greeneville, Tennessee store, on Thursday. The store replaces an old unit on East Andrew Johnson Highway that closed in May and is double the size—nearly 80,000 s.f.—of its predecessor, which was demolished to make way for the new store.
According a story from The Greeneville Sun last year when the plans were announced, the new Greeneville supermarket is expected to include an Ingles Gas Express, pharmacy and expanded product offerings in most areas of the store, as well as expanded ready-to-eat deli and bakery offerings and expanded meat and produce areas.
Company reports first quarter results
In other Ingles news, the company on Monday reported higher grocery sales for the three months ended Dec. 26, 2015, compared with the three months ended Dec. 27, 2014. Grocery sales (excluding gasoline sales) rose 2.6 percent over the comparative quarters. Net income totaled $13.0 million for the quarter ended Dec. 26, 2015, compared with $15.0 million for the quarter ended Dec. 27, 2014.
Gasoline gross profit was substantially higher during last year’s first fiscal quarter compared with this year’s first fiscal quarter. Personnel-related costs also were higher.
Robert P. Ingle II, CEO, said, “We are very pleased with the continued growth in our grocery sales and will continue to provide value to our customers both inside the store and at our fuel locations.”
Net sales totaled $951.1 million for the quarter ended Dec. 26, 2015, compared with $964.5 million for the quarter ending Dec. 27, 2014, a decrease of $13.4 million. Gasoline gallons sold increased, but gasoline dollar sales were $29.4 million lower comparing the December 2015 quarter with the December 2014 quarter, as the average per gallon sales price decreased by approximately 29 percent. Comparable store sales, excluding gasoline, increased 2.3 percent. The number of customer transactions (excluding gasoline) increased slightly, while the comparable average transaction size (excluding gasoline) increased 1.7 percent compared with the same quarter last year.
Gross profit for the December 2015 quarter rose to $225.6 million, or 23.7 percent of sales. Grocery gross margin (excluding gasoline) decreased three basis points comparing the December 2015 quarter with the December 2014 quarter. Gross profit for the December 2014 quarter was $224.4 million, or 23.3 percent of sales.
Operating and administrative expenses for the December 2015 quarter totaled $194.1 million, compared with $187.0 million for the December 2014 quarter. Increased personnel and insurance costs accounted for much of the increase, as well as higher maintenance and promotional costs.
Interest expense totaled $12.0 million for each three-month period ended Dec. 26, 2015, and Dec. 27, 2014. Total debt at the end of December 2015 was $924.8 million compared with $960.1 million at the end of December 2014.
Basic and diluted earnings per share for Class A Common Stock were $0.66 and $0.64, respectively, for the quarter ended Dec. 26, 2015, compared with $0.77 and $0.74 per share, respectively, for the quarter ended Dec. 27, 2014. Basic and diluted earnings per share for Class B Common Stock were each $0.60 for the quarter ended Dec. 26, 2015, compared with $0.70 per basic and diluted Class B share for the quarter ended Dec. 27, 2014.
Capital expenditures totaled $40.6 million for the December 2015 quarter, compared with $27.6 million for the December 2014 quarter. The increase is primarily attributable to sites purchased for future store development. During the 12 months ended December 2015, the company opened one new store and closed two stores that are currently being rebuilt. Total fiscal 2016 capital expenditures are expected to be between $100 million and $140 million.
Asheville, North Carolina-based Ingles operates approximately 200 supermarkets in six southeastern states.
