U.S. retailer Kroger Co on Tuesday forecasted profits and comparable revenues for 2020 that came above estimates for the same by Wall Street, expecting seeing its investments in store modernization and deliveries to be starting paying back.
As competition in U.S. grocery space getting higher with online retail giant Amazon.com also disrupting the same with its recent expanding strategies, the Cincinnati-based Kroger has taken certain measures to give boost to its sales, including price cuts.
Analysts are expecting sales of supermarket chain to rise by 1.1% this year which saw a fall of 1.2% in last year.
In 2017, Kroger announced “restock Kroger” program, after which it remained focus on rearranging layouts of its stores, displaying private-labeled brand and expanding its self checkouts and home delivery services.
At the time, largest supermarket chain by revenue in the United States had planned to make capital investments of $9 billion over three years and had forecast an increase of $400 million in its operating profit by 2020. But in September this year, company’s doubts about achieving those profit targets shook the confidence of investors in its previous plan.
In last quarter, lower gross margins in pharmacy, delayed sales momentum and higher wage investments left the company unable to reconfirm its operating profit for 2019, Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip told analysts on Tuesday, while Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen said that we are aware of what have worked and what did not worked.
Mostly for driving its sales growth in online and physical stores in next year to make profits and to launch its first Ocado warehouse facility, scheduled to be open in 2021, the United States’ second-largest general retailer has reserved $3.2 billion and $3.4 billion in capital investments.
Kroger forecast 2020 adjusted profit between $2.30 and $2.40 per share, while analysts are expecting it to be making $2.30 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
