Safeway 3rd-Quarter Profit Rises 29%

Safeway Inc., the No. 2 U.S. supermarket chain, said fiscal third-quarter profit rose 29% as it boosted sales and trimmed expenses. Net income rose to $193.7 million, or 38 cents a diluted share, from $150 million, or 30 cents, before a charge in the year-earlier period. The results for the period ended Sept. 12 beat by a penny the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp. Revenue rose 4.1% to $5.59 billion from $5.37 billion. Safeway, which is based in Pleasanton, is continuing to benefit from improved efficiencies and lower costs since its $2.6-billion purchase of Vons Cos. in 1997. Safeway expects to spend about $1 billion this year as it remodels 200 stores and adds 40 new locations. Safeway operates 1,381 food and drug stores in the U.S. and Canada, trailing only Kroger Co. in revenue. Its shares fell $1.63 to close at $44.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.