Supermarket giant Albertsons reported sales, identical-store sales and other gains in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Sales and other revenues for Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons climbed 1.6 percent, to $14 billion, in the quarter ending Feb. 24. Identical stores sales rose .6 percent in the quarter, adjusted EBITDA was up $25 million and sales penetration in the “own brands” category increased 30 basis points to 23 percent.

"We are very encouraged by the trends in our business as we returned to positive identical store sales and saw operating income and Adjusted EBITDA improvements during the fourth quarter," says Bob Miller, Albertsons’ chairman and CEO. "We expect to continue the positive momentum into fiscal 2018 with identical store sales growth, as we continue to build and expand our digital offerings to enhance loyalty in store and online, including the recent announcement of a new digital marketplace, which is being launched to expand selection for our customers later this year.”

On the negative side, Albertsons’ gross profit margin fell in the quarter, dropping from 28.5 percent in the same quarter in 2016 to 28.1 percent in 2017.

In 2018, Albertsons expects identical store sales growth to 1.5 to 2 percent and improvements in operating income of $280 million.