In advance of its annual investor conference, retail giant Kroger reaffirmed its 2018 earnings guidance and its commitment to its Restock Kroger program.
"We are on a transformation journey and we are making strong progress on redefining the customer experience," says Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "Everything we are doing today is creating a truly seamless shopping experience, so we can serve customers anything, anytime and anywhere."
Kroger reconfirmed its GAAP net earnings guidance range of $3.88 to $4.03 per diluted share for 2018. On an adjusted basis, the net earnings guidance range remains $2.00 to $2.15 per diluted share for 2018.
The company also provided identical sales guidance, excluding fuel, for the remainder of the year. Kroger expects second half results to be similar to first half results.
In advance of the meeting, the company today reconfirmed its Restock Kroger financial commitments to generate $6.5 billion of Restock free cash flow and $400 million in incremental FIFO operating profit over the three-year-period ending in 2020. Kroger is also exceeding its year-one cost savings goals expected in Restock Kroger.
"We are committed to delivering shareholder value through Restock Kroger. We have a clear path to generate $400 million in incremental FIFO operating profit by 2020 supported by solid early execution of Restock Kroger, including process changes that led to sustainable cost controls," McMullen says. "We look forward to outlining that path during our annual investors conference tomorrow."