<p>Whole Foods’ “outstanding” third quarter results are funding the company’s plans to open a total of 12 stores during the fourth quarter.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">During the period, sales rose by 12% to $3.1 billion while Comparable store sales increased 7.5%. EBITDA increased 17% to $306 million.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Net income also grew 21% to $142 million, and diluted earnings per share increased 20% to $0.38.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">During the last 12 months, the company has signed 50 new leases and is “increasing (its) development pipeline to 94 leases, and expect accelerating square footage growth for several years to come," according to a statement.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"We are dedicated to providing communities with fresh, healthy, natural and organic food and are on track to deliver our fourth consecutive year of increases in new store openings. We continue to gain market share and see demand for 1,000 Whole Foods Market stores in the U.S. alone," said Walter Robb, Co-CEO. "Our outstanding operational performance is funding our growth, and our new stores are creating a cycle of innovation across the company.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/?utm_referrer=" target="_new">Whole Foods</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
