Supervalu's first-quarter net income falls 40 pct
by The Associated Press

EDEN PRAIRIE -- Supervalu Inc.'s first-quarter net income fell 40 percent as rising competition cut into the grocery chain's sales.

The operator of Albertsons and Jewel-Osco called its revenue disappointing but reiterated its forecast for the full fiscal year.

The company earned $67 million, or 31 cents per share, for the quarter. That's down from $113 million, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding after-tax charges of 12 cents per share,the company earned 43 cents in the quarter that ended June 19.

Revenue fell 9.6 percent to $11.5 billion as the company exitedcertain markets.

Analysts, who typically exclude such one-time items, expected Supervalu to report net income of 42 cents per share on revenue of$11.67 billion.