Safeway Suffers Loss, Announces Slight Revenue Gains In 1Q 2014

Retailer Safeway Inc. reported a net loss of $83.1 million for the first quarter of 2014, including foreign-currency translation loss of $153.1 million and acquisitions-related costs of $4.1 million. Sales and other revenue grew 1.0 percent to $8.3 billion in the fourth quarter from $8.2 billion the first quarter of 2013. Gross profit declined 34 basis points to 26.15 percent during the quarter, compared with 26.49 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the company said. Operating and administrative expense rose 40 basis points to 25.49 percent of sales during the quarter, compared with 25.09 percent in the first quarter of the previous year.