Kroger beats by $0.06, beats on revs; raises FY12 EPS, comp guidance

Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.70 per share, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.64; revenues rose 11.0% year/year to $27.46 bln vs the $26.66 bln consensus; comps ex-fuel +4.6%. Co raises guidance for FY12, sees EPS of $1.85-1.95, up from $1.80-1.92 vs. $1.90 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Based on the current operating environment, the co expects to achieve results near the top end of this range. The increase reflects the strength of the co’s first quarter results and the higher estimated LIFO charge. The co now expects identical supermarket sales growth, excluding fuel, of 3.5% to 4.5% for the year, up from 3-4% perviously. FIFO gross margin was 21.42% of sales for 1Q11. Excluding retail fuel operations, FIFO gross margin decreased 4 bps from the same period last year. Supermarket selling gross margin declined 7 bps without fuel from the same period last year.