Ingles Sees Record FY Core Grocery Sales
Ingles Markets Inc. has posted record core grocery sales, excluding gasoline, for fiscal 2015, which, according to CEO Robert P. Ingle II, “drove a strong increase in net income for the year.” Total sales were $3.78 billion for the year, compared with $3.84 billion in 2014. For the full year ended September 2015, net income grew to $59.4 million in 2015, versus $51.4 million in 2014.
Total core grocery sales rose 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 1.9 percent for the year, compared with the comparable periods in 2014. Net income for Q4 2015 came to $16.2 million, compared with $17.6 million in the year-ago period.
The increase in core grocery sales for Q4 and 2015 was offset by lower gasoline prices than the prior year, according to the company. It sold a record number of gallons of gas in 2015, but the average sales price per gallon was 94 cents lower than in 2014.
Net sales were $3.78 billion for the year ended September 2015, a decline of $57.3 million, or 1.5 percent, from $3.84 billion for the year ended September 2014. Comparing 2015 with the previous year, comparable-store sales rose 2.1 percent, excluding gas sales. Gross profit for 2015 increased $48.1 million, or 5.7 percent, to $893.3 million, or 23.6 percent percent of sales, versus $845.2 million, or 22 percent of sales, for 2014.
Q4 2015 net sales totaled $952.8 million, compared with $964.8 million for the year-ago period, and comps, excluding gas, rose 3.1 percent. Gallons of gas sold increased, while the average per gallon sales price was considerably lower for Q4 2015 than for Q4 2014. Gross profit for Q4 2015 increased to $228.1 million, compared with $220.4 million for Q4 2014.
Major cap ex for 2015 included a new store, store remodels and the opening of five fuel stations.
Asheville, N.C.-based Ingles operates 201 supermarkets in six Southeastern states, as well as neighborhood shopping centers, most of which contain an Ingles supermarket. The company also owns a fluid dairy facility that supplies its supermarkets and unaffiliated customers.