Publix blows past $30 billion record in annual revenue

Mar 1, 2016, 11:36am EST Updated Mar 1, 2016, 2:50pm EST

INDUSTRIES & TAGS

Ashley Gurbal KritzerReporterTampa Bay Business Journal

Publix Super Markets Inc. has bagged another monster year, blowing past the record revenue it posted in 2014.

The Lakeland-based grocer on Tuesday released annual earnings that show annual revenue of $32.4 billion — up almost 6 percent from last year’s $30.6 billion.

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Publix had another stellar year in 2015.

Profits in 2015 were up, too, to $2 billion, compared to $1.7 billion for 2014 — an increase of more than 13 percent.

The growth is particularly impressive in a cutthroat food environment, in which Publix faces increased pressure, from new grocery concepts to restaurants to meal-delivery services. Publix has had success in adding upscale touches to its stores, luring in more affluent shoppers with prepared foods and organic options — and snaring market share from specialty grocers like Whole Foods Market Inc.(NASDAQ: WFM) in the process.

Publix is the largest privately held employer in the Tampa Bay region, with a local workforce of more than 35,000 people. It employs more than 176,000 people throughout the Southeast.

Same-store sales grew more than 4 percent in 2015 compared to 2014, Publix said. Same-store sales are a key metric of a retailer's financial health, measuring sales at established stores and not taking into account sales growth from new stores.

The company's annual report will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later Tuesday.

Profits in the fourth quarter were $521.1 million, compared to $453.3 million in 2014, an increase of 15 percent.

Earnings per share for the fourth quarter increased to $0.68 for 2015, up from $0.58 per share in 2014.