The gain easily bested upticks of 11.6% in the previous quarter and 10.4% in the 2021 first quarter and built on elevated grocery sales since the onset of COVID-19.
Excluding fuel sales, overall grocery comparable-store sales surged by 10% year over year for the 2022 first quarter, according to Ingles Market’s 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Gross profit in the first quarter came in at $350.5 million, or 25.2% of sales, up from $314.2 million, or 26.4% of sales, in the 2021 quarter.
Basic and diluted earnings per share for Class A common stock were $3.57 and $3.48, respectively, versus $2.73 and $2.66 in the prior-year period.
Ingles Markets finished the first quarter with 198 supermarkets in six states, including 74 in North Carolina, 66 in Georgia, 35 in South Carolina, 21 in Tennessee, and one apiece in Virginia and Alabama, compared with 197 stores a year ago.