Grocer Publix’s first-quarter sales rose 4.2% to $7.1bn (£4.4bn), up from last year’s $6.8bn (£4.2bn). Like-for-like sales increased 3.3% while net earnings climbed 2.8% to $409.4m (£253m) compared with $398.2m (£246.2m) in the same period in 2011.