Sprouts Farmers Market Posts Double-digit Gains in Q4, Year

Sprouts Farmers Market posted double-digit sales gains for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Dec. 28, 2014.

Net sales for the grocer's Q4 were $734.6 million, a 21 percent increase compared to the same period in 2013, driven primarily by the 8.5 percent increase in comps and the performance of new stores, according to the company.

Gross profit for the quarter also increased 21 percent, to $211.2 million; Net income in Q4 was $17.7 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.11, up $8.5 million from the year-ago period.

"We are pleased to report another quarter of strong top-line sales growth for Sprouts and solid financial results for the fourth quarter of 2014," said Doug Sanders, Sprouts' president and CEO. "We finished 2014 with 191 stores resulting in unit growth of 14%, nearly $3 billion in revenue and industry leading same store sales growth of 9.9%," he said.

For the 2014 fiscal year, the grocer posted net sales of $2.97 billion, a 22 percent increase, and a 9.9 percent increase in comps.

The Phoenix-based grocer netted $885.2 million in gross profit, up 22 percent; net income was $107.7 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.70, up $56.4 million from 2013, or an increase of 110 percent.

Sanders continued, "By leveraging our robust sales and remaining focused on managing store and overhead costs we produced record net income results for 2014."

Throughout the year, Sprouts opened 24 new stores, which resulted in 14 percent unit growth, to be reinvested "in existing stores to drive sales … [and] in corporate infrastructure to support our expansion," said CFO Amin Maredia.

In other Sprouts news, the grocer announced today that Sanders will join the company's board of directors, succeeding George Golleher, who is retiring.

"I am honored to serve Sprouts in my new capacity as a member of its board of directors. I look forward to working together with the board to continue delivering our mission of 'Healthy Living for Less' to our customers from coast to coast," Sanders said of his appointment.

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. operates more than 195 stores in 12 states.