Safeway’s 3rd-Quarter Shares Rise 42%

Safeway Inc.’s third-quarter earnings rose 42%, partly on increased sales from its purchase of Los Angeles-based Vons Cos. earlier this year. The food and drug retailer’s profit from operations rose to $150 million, or 60 cents a share, from net income of $105.9 million, or 44 cents, a year earlier. The most recent quarter’s results exclude a charge for the early retirement of debt. The company was expected to earn 58 cents a share, according to a poll of 13 analysts surveyed by IBES International Inc. Sales for the quarter rose 36% to $5.37 billion from $3.95 billion, reflecting the second-quarter merger with Vons. Shares of Pleasanton-based Safeway fell 75 cents to close at $52.13 on the NYSE.