Whole Foods Market reported last week a fourth quarter profit of $112.7 million and revenue of $2.9 billion compared with a $75.4 million profit and revenue of $2.3 billion during the same quarter last year.
The Austin Business Journal reports that the Austin, Texas-based natural grocer also posted a $465.5 million profit on revenue of $11.6 billion for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 vs. a $342.6 million profit and revenue of $10.1 billion last year.
Whole Foods, founded in 1980, employs about 64,200 workers, including 48,200 full-time workers.
Executives called fiscal 2012 the best in the company’s 32-year history and attributed the performance to a strong pace of store openings coupled with improvements in operating margins. During the quarter, Whole Foods opened seven new stores and signed 11 new leases.
Last month, Whole Foods acquired several leases in the Boston area from Johnnie’s Foodmaster, a Massachusetts-based grocery chain. The deal—which includes six locations that average 31,000 s.f.—is expected to close Nov. 30.
