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Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Whole Foods Shares Fall on 2010 View, Share Dilution

By Kathryn Glass

FOXBusiness

Gourmet grocer Whole Foods Market (WFMI) reported strong fourth-quarter profit but announced a share dilution and gave lower than expected fiscal 2010 view that sent the stock south in after-hours trading.

The company forecast fiscal 2010 earnings to range between $1.05 and $1.10 per share, below analyst consensus of $1.11 per share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Whole Foods forecast sales growth between 5% and 8% in fiscal 2010, and it expects comparable store sales to grow between 1% to 4%, with identical store sales to grow between of 0% and 3%.

For the fourth quarter, the grocery chain saw profit of $36.4 million or 20 cents per share, compared to net income of $1.5 million or 1 penny per share a year ago.

Revenue improved 2.3%, rising to $1.83 billion; comparable sales fell 0.9%. Shares of Whole Foods fell $2.66 or 8.30% to $29.40 in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

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