said Monday expresses george lopez comedian that profit gearge lopez conclude in its fiscal third quarter increased by one-third as the upscale grocer added square footage and saw big gains in same-store sales. But sales fell short of Wall Street forecasts and its shares tumbled more than 7% in late-session trading. The Austin, Texas-based company said it earned $53. 9 million or 37 cents a share in the three months ended July 2, compared with $40. 4 million, or 29 cents a share, in the same period last year. Analysts were expecting 34 cents a share in the quarter, according to a Thomson Financial survey. Revenue was $1. 34 billion, up 18% from $1. 13 billion a year earlier but below the $1. 36 billion that analysts were expecting, according to Thomson. The company said comparable-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose 9. 9%, with the biggest gains at locations that are less than 5 years old. The company said it expected sales to grow 18% to 21% and earnings per share to increase the same or slightly more for fiscal 2006. It also expects comparable-store gains of 10% to 12% for the year. Whole Foods has about 180 stores in the U. S. , Canada and Britain. It has set a goal of $12 billion in annual sales by 2010. Whole Foods shares have wilted lately, as investors worry that consumers struggling with high gasoline and utility costs will cut their spending on higher-end, organic foods. They have traded at $54. 66 to $79. 90 in the last 52 weeks. Whole Foods shares fell 7. 3%, or $4. 21, to $53. 30 in after-hours electronic trading on news of the report In regular trading, they had fallen 14 cents to $57. 51. .
In an attempt to increase revenue, the Los Angeles Times will begin accepting advertisements on the front pages of some sections of the newspaper, including Calendar and Sports. With the announcement Monday by Publisher Jeff Johnson, The Times joins several other newspapers that recently announced that they would sell ad space on one or more section fronts, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Boston Globe and Chicago Tribune george lopez comedy . The move is designed to bolster flagging revenue at The Times, which reduced its staff last year to meet financial targets set by parent Tribune Co gerge lopez . of Chicago. Last month, Tribune reported a 62% drop in second-quarter profit and accelerating circulation declines at its papers gorge lopez . Still, the company's newspapers remain highly profitable. American newspapers commonly sold ads on section fronts in the 19th century The practice continues in Europe and elsewhere But most top U. S gerorge lopez . papers had abandoned the practice by the last half of the 20th century. The prime space was reserved for articles and photographs, with advertising limited to inside and back pages.
But industry standards have been evolving rapidly as traditional media outlets have lost revenue in recent years, in part because of competition from the Internet. Johnson announced the policy change in a memo e-mailed to employees Monday. George Lopez tickets The ads will run across the bottom of the covers of the Calendar, Sports, Business and Sunday Travel sections George Lopez George Lopez . There are no plans to place ads on the front page of the newspaper George Lopez - georgelopez . "We are evaluating whether similar revenue opportunities are appropriate for our other sections," Johnson said george lpez . "To remain competitive, we must offer advertisers innovative new ways to reach our large and influential audience George Lopez - wikipedia . "Times Editor Dean Baquet said he "expressed concern" about ads running on the front of the Calendar section geoge lopez . He said he feared that articles about movies would run adjacent to advertising for films, perhaps giving the appearance that coverage had been compromised george lopz . But Baquet said he was reassured that there would be ways to set the ads apart from the editorial content. "This has been more an issue of tradition than ethics, and I think there is a way we can handle it," Baquet said. The New York Times said in June that it would carry ads on the front of its business section.