CINCINNATI (AP) _ Kroger Co. (KR) on Thursday reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $1.21 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Cincinnati-based company said it had profit of $1.52. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $1.22 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.12 per share.

The supermarket chain posted revenue of $41.55 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $40.93 billion.

Kroger shares have risen 13% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has declined nearly 4%. The stock has risen 35% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on KR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/KR

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News