Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.wpost From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Giant's Profit Drops 3%; Hechinger's Is Flat< Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 04:45:04 EST Message-ID: <52.1992Nov25.044505@AmeriCast.com> Lines: 65 Giant's Profit Drops 3%; Hechinger's Is Flat< In the face of intense competition and the recession, Giant Food Inc. saw its profit decline slightly while sales remained flat in its fiscal third quarter. For the three months ended Nov. 7, Giant's profit declined 3 percent, to $13.8 million (23 cents a share) from $14.2 million (24 cents) for the same period a year ago. Sales barely budged, rising to $778.5 million from $773.8 million a year ago. Offi- cials at Giant, the Landover-based supermarket chain that dom- inates the local retail food market, said the recession and price competition hurt sales and earnings. Although profit declined in the quarter, the company said the downward trend was not as sharp as earlier in the year. In the past couple years, Giant's competition has intensified, with rivals ranging from Shoppers Food Warehouse to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to discount warehouse clubs. For its first three quarters, Giant's sales inched up to $2.4 billion from $2.3 billion for the same period a year ago. Profit in the first nine months declined 28 percent, to $44.8 million (75 cents) from $62.5 million ($1.05) a year ago. Hechinger Co.'s earnings were flat in its third quarter, although its sales increased 16 percent. For the three months ended Oct. 31, 1992, the Landover-based do- it-yourself hardware retailer reported a profit of $6.5 million (16 cents), the same as the third quarter a year ago. Sales rose to $464 million from $400.6 million. Same-store sales - those at stores open for more than a year and considered a good barometer of performance - rose 6 percent. Hechinger officials said the sluggish economy and the cost of building new stores and remodeling others were reasons for the flat profits. They said they hope their new Home Quarters Ware- house stores and Hechinger Home Project Centers, with their lower prices and narrower focus on hardware goods, will contribute to better profits next year because they are cheaper to operate and generate higher sales volume. For the nine months ended Oct. 31, Hechinger lost $29.1 million, compared with a profit of $27.6 million (71 cents) for the same period a year ago. Without a one-time charge of $57.3 million taken in the first quarter, nine-month earnings would have been $28.2 million (67 cents). Sales for the nine months rose to $1.45 billion from last year's $1.25 billion. Same-store sales increased 8 percent.<02:37 11-25 Copyright 1992, The Washington Post. This story is from the Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar- chived or redistributed. For more information, send-email to American Cybercasting Cor- poration (usa@AmeriCast.COM)