Albertson’s 2nd-Quarter Profit Falls 11%

Albertson’s Inc., the second-largest U.S. supermarket operator, said profit in its fiscal second quarter fell 11% to $211 million, or 50 cents a share, as sales fell 1.8% to $9.2 billion. Albertson’s sales have been hurt by competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other chains that compete by offering lower prices. The company also is struggling with higher labor costs and expenses related to its June 1999 purchase of American Stores Co. The results, which exclude acquisition-related costs, met the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial. Analysts lowered their estimates from 62 cents two weeks ago, when the company warned of lower earnings. Shares of Albertson’s, based in Boise, Idaho, rose $1.13 to close at $22.38 on the NYSE, before the earnings were released.