Apr 1, 2004 12:00 PM

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co Inc (A&P) announced unaudited fiscal 2003 third-quarter and year-to-date results for the 12 and 40 weeks ended Nov 29, 2003.

Sales for the third quarter were $2.5 billion, compared with $2.3 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2002. The loss for the third quarter was $0.65 per share, compared with a loss of $0.77 in the prior year.

Sales for the 40 weeks year to date were $8.1 billion versus $7.7 billion in fiscal year 2002. The net loss per share was $2.30 for fiscal 2003 year to date, compared with a loss of $4.48 for 2002.

Founded in 1859, A&P was one of the nation's first supermarket chains, and is among North America's largest. It operates 645 stores in 10 states, the District of Columbia, and Ontario, Canada.