Mar 9, 2004 12:00 PM, from staff and wire reports

Albertson's Inc reported fiscal year 2003 net earnings of $556 million, versus $485 million in the prior year.

For the fourth quarter of 2003, the Boise ID-based retail grocery chain reported net earnings of $130 million. Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2002 were $205 million. The company estimates that the Southern California labor dispute reduced fourth-quarter net earnings by approximately $90 million.

Albertson's reported total sales of $8.6 billion for the quarter versus 2003's fourth-quarter sales of $9.1 billion. The Southern California labor dispute negatively impacted total sales by an estimated $700 million in the fourth quarter. Fiscal 2003 total sales were $35.4 billion, versus $35.6 billion the year before.