Supervalu to Consider Spinoff of Save-A-Lot

By Angela Chen 

Supervalu Inc. said Tuesday that it is considering spinning off its Save-A-Lot chain to better focus on its other segments, as the discount chain reported better-than-expected results for the June quarter.

Shares of Supervalu, which had fallen 24% this year through Monday's close, jumped 11% to $8.18 in early trade on Tuesday.

Supervalu owns supermarket chains including Cub, Fresh Farm and Shop n' Save. Like other supermarket operators, Supervalu is facing increased competition from a wide range of rivals including warehouse clubs, major retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and dollar stores.

There is no specific timetable set for the possible spinoff. About a third of Save-A-Lot's 1,300 stores are company-owned and the brand has been a strong performer for the Eden Prairie, Minn., company, notably when the company was in trouble several years ago as other operations struggled. In its most recent quarter, corporate Save-A-Lot stores logged 2.8% identical-store-sales growth, compared with 0.6% for the network as a whole. Sales were $1.41 billion, up from $1.36 billion a year earlier.

Supervalu's retail food segment identical-store sales were down 0.3%. Sales for the segment increased to $1.47 billion from $1.43 billion, mostly due to the impact of new store openings.

Overall, Supervalu reported a profit of $61 million, or 23 cents a share, up from $43 million, or 17 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased to $5.41 billion from $5.26 billion.

Analysts expected per-share profit of 20 cents and revenue of $5.39 billion, according to FactSet.

Write to Angela Chen at [e-mail]

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