Whole Foods Earnings Rise

Whole Foods Market Inc. said Monday that profit in its fiscal third quarter increased by one-third as the upscale grocer added square footage and saw big gains in same-store sales.

But sales fell short of Wall Street forecasts and its shares tumbled more than 7% in late-session trading.

The Austin, Texas-based company said it earned $53.9 million or 37 cents a share in the three months ended July 2, compared with $40.4 million, or 29 cents a share, in the same period last year.

Analysts were expecting 34 cents a share in the quarter, according to a Thomson Financial survey.

Revenue was $1.34 billion, up 18% from $1.13 billion a year earlier but below the $1.36 billion that analysts were expecting, according to Thomson.

The company said comparable-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose 9.9%, with the biggest gains at locations that are less than 5 years old.

The company said it expected sales to grow 18% to 21% and earnings per share to increase the same or slightly more for fiscal 2006. It also expects comparable-store gains of 10% to 12% for the year.

Whole Foods has about 180 stores in the U.S., Canada and Britain. It has set a goal of $12 billion in annual sales by 2010.

Whole Foods shares have wilted lately, as investors worry that consumers struggling with high gasoline and utility costs will cut their spending on higher-end, organic foods. They have traded at $54.66 to $79.90 in the last 52 weeks.

Whole Foods shares fell 7.3%, or $4.21, to $53.30 in after-hours electronic trading on news of the report. In regular trading, they had fallen 14 cents to $57.51.