Tops reports positive Q4, full-year results

The parent company of the supermarket chain Tops Markets, LLC generated $1.2 million in net income in the fourth quarter of 2011, capping a year that contrasted with red ink in 2010.

The fourth-quarter net income at Tops Holding Corp. was up from a net loss of $13.8 million a year earlier.

Net sales increased $9.3 million from the fourth quarter of 2010 to $540.1 million. Operating income climbed to $15.6 million, up from $1.7 million in the prior-year period.

Four new gas stations Tops opened in 2011 helped drive up sales, the company said. Gasoline sales at Tops, which operated fuel centers at 38 of its supermarkets as of December 2011, increased $8.3 million to $46.1 million in the fourth quarter. Rising gas prices were responsible for some of that increase, according to Tops.

For the full year in 2011, Tops’ net income totaled $5.8 million. That is up from a loss of $27 million in 2010, when Tops recorded $31.4 million of integration costs, one-time legal fees, and one-time professional fees from acquiring Penn Traffic Co. of Syracuse.

Tops acquired 79 supermarkets from Penn Traffic. It sold or closed 29 of those supermarkets in 2010, 2011, and 2012, leaving it with 50 supermarkets that had been owned by Penn Traffic.

Net sales at Tops in 2011 rose $98 million to $2.36 billion. Operating income also rose to $68.8 million, up from $10.6 million in 2010.

“Our results capitalize on the strength of our brand and our ability to grow through innovative merchandising and marketing while maintaining disciplined cost management,” Tops President and CEO Frank Curci said in a news release. “The successful integration of the acquired Penn Traffic stores under the Tops banner and those newly renovated stores have resulted in an increase in foot traffic.”

Tops operates 124 supermarkets and has five franchise supermarkets in upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania. The company employs about 12,500 people.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com