04 Aug 2010 —  Whole Foods Reports Q3 2010 Results: Sales Up 15.0%

Whole Foods has reported its earnings results for the third quarter ended July 4, 2010. For the quarter, total sales grew 15% to approximately USD 2.2 billion. Operating income was reported at USD 115.26 million, up from USD 78.9 million for the third quarter of 2009.

Other Q3 highlights:

• Comparable-store (comps) sales grew 8.8%. Excluding the effect of exchange rates, comps increased 8.6%.
• Identical store (ID) sales grew 8.4%. Excluding the effect of exchange rates, ID sales increased 8.2%.
• Whole Foods invested USD 52.7 million on capital expenditures (capex), of which USD 32.4 million was spent on opening six stores and acquiring two stores.
• Free cash flow was reported at approximately USD 65.2 million.

YTD highlights:

• Overall sales increased 11.0% to USD 6.9 billion.
• Comps grew 6.7% (up 6.4% excluding exchange rate effects).
• ID sales grew 6.0% (up 5.7% excluding exchange rate effects).
• Capex spend was USD 199.8 million, including 12 new stores.
• Free cash flow was USD 261.1 million, a 17.3% increase.

Outlook for fiscal year 2010:

• Overall sales are expected to grow in the range of 11.7% to 11.9%.
• Comps are expected to grow in the range of 6.6% to 6.8%.
• ID sales are expected to grow in the range of 6.0% to 6.2%.
• Operating margin is expected to grow 4.7%.
• Capex investment is expected to be in the range of USD 250 million to USD 260 million.

Whole Foods currently has 298 stores in the US, Canada, and the UK.