Financial News

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Stater Bros. reported its first-quarter sales for fiscal year 2012 on Tuesday.

First-quarter sales rose 6.86% to $960.7 million, compared with the year-ago period, while same-store sales also increased 6.86% to $61.7 million. The company also reported net income for the 13-week first quarter ended Dec. 25 totaled $9 million, compared with net income of $2.8 million during the 13-week first quarter ended Dec. 26, 2010.

ALLEGAN, Mich. — New product sales and the acquisition of Paddock Labs prompted second-quarter net sales to jump 17% to $838 million for Perrigo for fiscal year 2012, the drug maker said.

For the company's consumer healthcare products segment, net sales rose 10% to $471 million, compared with the year-ago period, thanks to new product sales of $26 million and the diabetes care category, along with an increase in sales of existing products of $20 million.

NEW YORK — Executives and guests of Post Holdings visited the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the spinoff from parent company Ralcorp Holdings on Tuesday.

As part of the celebration, Post Holdings CEO William Stiritz rang the opening bell.

As reported, the cereal maker now is a publicly-traded standalone company. It will trade under the ticket symbol "POST."

ST. LOUIS — Ralcorp Holdings officially has turned its Post Foods cereal business into a tax-free spinoff to Ralcorp shareholders.

The deal, which was announced in July 2011, allows Ralcorp shareholders to hold shares of two stand-alone, publicly traded companies: Ralcorp and Post Foods. Now its own separate business, Ralcorp said it will produce private-label foods in the United States and also become a major producer of foodservice products.

RESTON, Va. — U.S. retail e-commerce sales experienced a strong finish in 2011, putting sales for the full year well ahead of 2010, according to ComScore.

NEW YORK — The regulatory waiting period standing between Bristol-Myers Squibb and its acquisition of drug maker Inhibitex has expired, giving Bristol the green light to buy the company.

Bristol said Friday that the expiration of the waiting period, mandated by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, would allow it to acquire Inhibitex for $26 per share.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — The impact of the failed Express Scripts negotiations on Walgreens' sales has been significant to date, as evidenced by Walgreens' January sales release issued Friday.

Walgreens reported a sales decline of 2.3% for the month of January to $5.8 billion — the first month operating outside of the Express Scripts pharmacy network. A flu season that has yet to materialize also has had a significant impact on comparable sales figures.

Sales in comparable stores were down 4.6%, falling below analyst consensus of down 2.6%.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target appears to have salvaged its fourth-quarter sales results with a 4.3% same-store sales increase in January to offset a disappointing 1.6% increase in December and a 1.8% increase in November.