Albertsons bonds edge higher on top- and bottom-line Q3 earnings beats

Bonds backing Albertsons Cos. Inc. edged higher in early trading after the company posted fiscal third-quarter earnings this morning that beat consensus expectations and boosted its full-year profit outlook.

The most actively traded ACI 3.5% senior notes due 2029, which were placed in August and upsized in December, moved up a quarter of a point, to 101.125 on the highs, albeit on thin volume. The 4.625% senior notes due 2027 picked up 0.375 points, to trade at 106.125, while the rest of the borrower's stack remained a quarter of a point lower in line with the broader markets. Albertsons shares, which were listed in June 2020 at an opening price of $16, rose more than 4% in pre-market trading to $17.50.

The grocery-store chain reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $123.7 million, or $0.20 per share, up from $54.8 million, or $0.09 per share, from the year-ago period. When adjusted, per-share earnings of $0.66 surpassed Street estimates of $0.35. Revenue also came in at $15.41 billion, ahead of analyst expectations of $15.04 billion, versus $14.1 billion last year.

Same-store sales rose 12.3% and digital sales were up a whopping 225% as consumers stockpiled goods and growing numbers turned to online shopping as COVID-19 cases continued to rise. Gross profit margin of 29.3% and adjusted EBITDA $968 million also beat consensus expectations and led management to raise its full-year fiscal 2020 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $4.4 billion-$4.5 billion, from $4.15 billion-$4.25 billion.