Publix profits rise 12.4%; sales up 11%

MMR, August 21, 2006

LAKELAND, Fla. -- With help from the Easter calendar shift, Publix Super Markets Inc. posted double-digit increases in both sales and earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2006.

Net income for the three months ended June 30 climbed 12.4% to $264 million.

The chain's top line, meanwhile, expanded 11% to $5.3 billion, driven by an impressive 8.5% rise in comparable-store sales. Management attributes about $62 million, or 1.3%, to the Easter holiday, which moved from the first quarter in 2005 into the second quarter this year.

As of August 1 Publix operated 884 stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.