<p>Whole foods has announced its third quarter results for the twelve week period that ended on July 3. Sales for the quarter increased 11% and came in at $2.4 billion. Comparable store sales increased 8.4%, while identical store sales were up 8.1%, excluding four locations and one expansion. The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) increased 15% from last year to $206.8 million this year. Net income increased this year by 35% to $88.5 million, and diluted earnings per share increased 30% to $0.50.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Whole Foods’ CEO, Walter Robb stated: “We are continuing to gain market share at a faster rate than most public food retailers as reflected in our 8.5% comparable store sales growth year to date. We attribute much of our success to our value efforts, which have improved our price image, and to continuing to raise the bar in areas that matter to our customers, particularly quality standards and<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">health and wellness. We are producing consistently strong top- and bottom-line results and are very excited to be accelerating our new store openings once again. Through continued innovation and ongoing discipline around expenses and capital allocation, we expect to deliver higher levels of both operating performance and returns on invested capital over time.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The company anticipates an equally successful fourth quarter. The company’s full year’s analysis is available at http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/pdfs/Q311financial.pdf.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
