Jun 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Safeway Inc. has reported net income of $193.4 million for the first quarter of 2008, compared with net income of $174.4 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Total sales increased 7.3% to $10.0 billion in the first quarter of 2008, versus $9.3 billion in the first quarter of 2007. Identical-store sales rose 4.5% in the first quarter of 2008.

Steve Burd, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said, “Our earnings per share grew by 13% compared to the first quarter of 2007. Part of this growth was due to the shift in the Easter holiday. In addition, our efforts to reduce and control costs contributed to operating margin improvement. At the same time, we invested in lower prices to improve our competitiveness and enhance our consumer offering. We remain confident in our ability to deliver earnings per share growth in the 13-18% range for this 53-week year.”

Safeway operates 1,740 stores in the United States and Canada.