- Spartan Stores Inc. reported a third quarter net loss of $67 million, after breaking even during the third quarter a year ago. Net sales for the period dropped to $995.4 million from $1.06 billion a year earlier.
- Whole Foods Market Inc. said net income in the fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 19 rose to $25.6 million from $20.1 million a year earlier. Quarterly sales rose to $923.8 million from $780.8 million a year ago.
- McDonald's Corp. reported that its total January same-store sales dropped 2.4 percent, though US operations actually fared better than most of its other divisions, declining just 0.5 percent. Only in Latin America did McDonald’s see an increase for the period, of 5.1 percent. Elsewhere, all the same-store news was bad: in Europe, down 3.8 percent; Asia-Pacific, down 7.2 percent; and Canada, down 2.7 percent.
McDonald’s reported its first-ever loss during the fourth quarter.
- Coca Cola Co. reported that cash from operations for the just completed fiscal year was a record $4.7 billion, compared to $4.1 billion in the prior year, a 15 percent increase. After investing activities, Coke generated $3.6 billion of cash flow in 2002, a 22 percent increase over 2001.
Coca-Cola Co. posted a fourth quarter profit of $930 million, up from a profit of $914 million for the fourth quarter a year ago.
