- Organic grocer Whole Foods Markets reported third quarter net income of $28.7 million, up from $22.1 million a year earlier, a gain that reflected some new store openings as well as the inclusion of Easter in the third quarter results. Sales rose 15 percent to $749 million from $648.8 million a year earlier. Comparable-store sales rose 7.6 percent.
Management said it plans to double the number of Whole Foods units by 2010 in an attempt to generate $10 billion in annual sales.
- Spartan Stores reported that first-quarter consolidated net sales increased 2.3 percent to $502.0 million from last year's first-quarter sales of $490.8 million and 5.6 percent from fiscal 2003's fourth-quarter sales of $475.6 million
Spartan also reported a first-quarter operating loss of $348,000, compared with operating earnings of $8.0 million in last year's first quarter. The first-quarter loss, however, represented an improvement over the $5.2 million operating loss reported in fiscal 2003's fourth quarter, the company said.
- CVS Corp. reported that second quarter net income was $199.8 million, up from $176.4 million during the same period a year ago.
Total quarterly sales rose 7.6 percent to $6.44 billion, while same-store sales were up 5.5 percent.
