EmailSupervalu (SVU $3.27 -2.01) reported first quarter earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.19 worse than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.38, while revenues fell 4.5% year/year to $10.6 billion versus the $10.81 billion consensus. "While our shift to a fair price plus promotion strategy is right for our business, it is essential that we move even more aggressively to lower prices, and anticipate and respond to competitor actions. We expect our business transformation to meet our customers' demands for great quality at lower prices... We intend to do this while remaining profitable, continuing to pay down debt and investing the capital to maintain and enhance our stores and related assets. Accordingly, we will be pursuing deeper and more structural cost savings initiatives. Also, we are adopting more flexible financing facilities, reducing our near-term capital expenditures and suspending our dividend."
Review of strategic alternatives: The Company's Board and management, in conjunction with its financial advisors, Goldman Sachs and Greenhill & Co., have initiated a review of strategic alternatives to create value for the Company's shareholders.
Suspends guidance: Concurrent with the actions noted above to enhance performance and shareholder value, the Company is suspending identical store sales and earnings per share guidance and withdrawing any previous guidance given for fiscal 2013.
