LITTLE ROCK — Asda’s market share hits a record 17.9%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Asda supermarket chain increased its market share to a record 17.9 percent from 17.3 percent a year earlier, according to Kantar Worldpanel data released Tuesday.
Asda is the second-largest United Kingdom grocery chain by market share.
Tesco Plc, Britain’s biggest supermarket operator, accounted for 30.2 percent of grocery purchases in the 12 weeks ended March 18, Kantar said in a statement, an increase from 29.7 percent reported a month ago, though down from 30.6 percent a year earlier.
The market share of J Sainsbury Plc and William Morrison Supermarkets Plc held steady at 16.6 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively.
Aldi had the strongest U.K. sales growth, with a 29 percent jump in the three-month period, London-based Kantar said.
The German company increased its share of U.K.
grocery spending to 2.6 percent from 2.1 percent a year ago.
CEO of Windstream
earned $9.4 million
Jeffery Gardner, chief executive officer for Windstream Corp., earned $9.4 million last year, the Little Rock telecommunications company said Tuesday.
Gardner’s overall pay was up 38 percent from 2010. Gardner’s salary was $991,000 last year, unchanged from 2010. His overall pay includes salary, nonequity incentive plan compensation, plan-based awards and other compensation.
Other Windstream executives and their total income last year were:
Anthony Thomas, chief financial officer, $1.8 million, down 16 percent from 2010.
Brent Whittington, chief operating officer, $2.5 million, down 16 percent from 2010.
John Fletcher, general counsel, $1.9 million, down 24 percent from 2010.
Cynthia Nash, chief information officer, $1.1 million, down 26 percent from 2010.
Windstream’s annual meeting will be held May 9 at 11 a.m. at the Capital Hotel in Little Rock.
Arkansas Index dips as 11 stocks decline
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 0.73 to 236.50 on Tuesday.
“End-of-the-quarter adjustments pushed stocks lower with energy and financial stocks selling-off, while health care and utility stocks edged higher,” said Chris Harkins, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock. “The Arkansas Index slumped Tuesday as 11 stocks declined, four rallied and one remained unchanged.”
P.A.M. Transportation Service jumped 6 percent, Harkins said.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 27 on 03/28/2012