Kroger forecasts full-year sales below estimates

[March 04, 2021]  (Reuters) - Kroger Co forecast annual same-store sales below analysts' estimates on Thursday, signaling a bigger-than-expected slowdown in demand from a pandemic-fueled rush for groceries that boosted performance last year.

Kroger's sales surged last year as stuck-at-home consumers rushed in droves to the websites and apps of big national grocery chains to stock up on food and household essentials.

However, analysts expect that sales growth would be difficult to replicate this year as the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines promises a return to relative normalcy, removing the need to hoard supplies.

Kroger expects adjusted full-year same-store sales to fall 3% to 5%, more than analysts' estimates of a 2.5% decline.

However, same-store sales, excluding fuel, rose 10.6% in the fourth quarter, beating the Refinitiv IBES estimate of a 9.4% rise.

The supermarket chain forecast full-year profit per share between $2.75 and $2.95 per share, above analysts' estimates of $2.69, as it benefits from cost-saving measures.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)

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