Safeway Reports Sales Dip, Cautious On 2010

US supermarket operator Safeway has posted a drop in sales and earnings for 2009 after seeing demand suffer in the wake of the economic downturn. In the 12 months to January 2 2010 Safeway's sales dropped by 7.3% to US$40,850mn, with comparable stores sales (excluding fuel) down by 2.5%. The firm's net profits were wiped out by a non-cash impairment charge of US$1.82bn; however, if this is excluded, net profit came in at US$720mn, down from US$965mn the previous year.

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