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Vons owner may buy back stock

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1999 | 11:38 a.m.

PLEASANTON, Calif. -- Safeway Inc., the third-largest U.S. supermarket company, said it may buy back as much as $1 billion in stock, after concerns about its profit and sales outlook sent shares down 20 percent in the past week.

The owner of Vons stores could buy as many as 29.4 million, or about 5.7 percent, of its estimated 513.4 million shares outstanding, based on Tuesday's closing price of $34. Stock buybacks reduce the number of shares outstanding, boosting a company's per-share earnings.

Shares of Safeway began falling on Thursday, when the retailer said profit for the third quarter ended Sept. 11 rose less than some forecasts. While recent acquisitions boosted total sales, Safeway's stores open at least a year had fewer shoppers and didn't give earnings an added lift.

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