April 14 (Reuters) – Albertsons forecast its annual sales below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, pointing to pressure on demand from fierce competition with bigger rivals rolling out heavier discounts.
Persistently high inflation and economic uncertainty are forcing budget-conscious consumers to rein in spending even on staples, including groceries, weighing on sales for companies such as Albertsons.
The grocer has also been facing intense competition from industry peers including Walmart, Kroger as well as Amazon.com in providing price-conscious consumers affordable groceries.
In the fourth quarter, Albertsons posted a net loss of $480.8 million compared with a profit of $171.8 million a year ago, as it accounted for charges from opioid-related claims.
Albertsons said on Tuesday it would pay out $774 million to resolve thousands of lawsuits by U.S. states, local governments and Native American tribes claiming the supermarket chain’s pharmacies helped fuel the nation’s opioid epidemic.
The company expects fiscal 2026 identical sales growth in the range of flat to 1% rise, compared with analysts’ average estimate of a 1.58% increase, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Sanskriti Shekhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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